In the Kingdom's Service
by Coeur Al'Aran
Summary: Jaune Arc, Field Agent of the VSS - Vale's Secret Service, or at least that's what he's been told. All he knows is that they found out about his faked transcripts, and now he works in the interests of the Kingdom. With terrorists on the horizon, not to mention a shady organisation and an even shadier group operating under Ozpin, what's a bumbling teen turned secret agent to do?
1. Chapter 1

**Here we go with a new fic. As explained elsewhere, this will take over Professor Arc and come out each Sunday. I'd like to throw a few quick warnings now, however. Firstly, this fic will** _ **not**_ **make use of OC's. That said, several characters will be unknown at the start. Jaune will not know the identity of certain people, and may even use code names at some point. These are not OC's, however. They are characters from the show.**

 **Secondly, this story may have some darker themes. It's not going to be an angst-fest, but it is dealing with subterfuge and intrigues, so expect some uncomfortable topics. It's also going to be AU. I mean, every fanfic is AU (surely), but this may be more AU than usual. Beacon will still be a thing, as will the characters, and while major events will still happen as expected, there will be a change in terms of micro-events. This is just to keep things interesting and make this not another canon rewrite. There shouldn't be any OOC characters, and no OC ones either, it's more AU in terms of what events occur.**

 **Pairing is secret. It's my new rule, and all pairings will now not be told ahead of time.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

* * *

Jaune Arc knew he'd made a mistake.

He'd made many in his short life, some more devastating than others, but all of which he'd come to regret in time. In truth there was more he regretted in life than not, mostly on how he'd not bothered to train when he was younger, and how he'd coasted through school without putting much effort in. Those were little things now, unimportant in the grand scheme of things. Most went forgotten. Most went ignored.

His attempts to forge his transcripts and fake his way into Beacon hadn't. It had only been a few days ago, after all. He'd just gotten his acceptance letter today.

That, he regretted.

He'd expected life would get a little bit more exciting when he signed up to become a huntsman. He thought he knew the risks, the danger. There were Grimm, stronger students, and probably a lot of training he wouldn't know how to do. He was ready to face that. He just needed to be aware of the risks ahead of time and prepare for them. If there was one thing he didn't fear, it was hard work - and he had a whole litany of things he knew to watch out for.

Funny how being strapped to a chair with a sack over his head hadn't made that list…

"You heard his story," a voice said. It was muffled through the burlap. "Not sure – fake – lies?"

Jaune struggled to hear. It was hard, not only because of the sack, but also because of how terrified he was. His heart beat in his chest like a drum, and the occasional whimper that slipped from his gagged mouth didn't help. Whatever they'd used to bind his hands behind his back chafed his skin badly. His body shook.

 _I don't want to die here._

"I suppose we should find out," a gruff voice said.

A hand settled atop his head, he could feel it through the sack. It gripped tight and then tugged. There was no flash of blinding white light. The room was dark, but for a small glow from a lamp in the far corner. It was a bare and empty space made of concrete floor and walls, with only a single table nearby. Atop it, lay a small bag with unknown implements inside.

There was also a gun.

Jaune couldn't take his eyes off it.

"You gagged him?" one of the two men asked. He was tall and thin, but his face was hidden by a porcelain mask. It was pitch black. He couldn't see through the eye slits. It was too dark. "How is he supposed to talk like this?"

"If you'd seen what he was like before, you'd understand." The second, a far bulkier figure dressed in black and with another mask, crouched down and reached toward him. "Stay still," he commanded, clutching Jaune's chin when he flinched away. He untied the knot at the back of Jaune's neck, then pulled the crumpled cloth out of his mouth.

Jaune gasped, but quickly shot into action. "Whatever you want, it's yours. I didn't do anything. I don't know where I am or what I did, but I'm sorry. Please let me go. I don't want to- mfph!"

"See what I mean?" the bulky man asked, holding the cloth back in Jaune's mouth. "Getting him to talk isn't the problem. He's _good_ at that."

"It's the validity of those poisonous words," the tall man said. "I see." He crouched down and looked Jaune in the eye. "Are you listening to me, my boy? Nod if you are."

Jaune nodded. He'd have done anything they asked of him at that moment.

"Good. Now then, I'm going to have my associate here remove your gag, but this time, I don't want you to speak. Do you understand?"

He nodded again. The gag was removed, and despite the strong desire to gasp, or maybe sob, Jaune kept his lips sealed. The gentle words did little for his fear, however. If the man thought it had, then he needed to look in the mirror. The black mask was terrifying.

"Ah, that's much better. You see, friend, so much more can be accomplished with a little bit of kindness." The tall man pulled a chair out from the shadows and sat down on it backwards. Jaune's Mom would have had words about that, but probably not to someone dressed like this. "Now, Mr Arc, isn't it? Please answer with a nod or a shake of the head. Save your words for now."

Jaune nodded a yes.

"Good, good. Can I call you Jaune?"

Yes. Whatever, they could call him whatever they wanted so long as it wasn't corpse. He nodded frantically.

"Thank you, Jaune. You've been very co-operative so far, to both me and my associate here. I'd like to thank you for that, but also to ease your mind a little." He might have smiled. Jaune couldn't tell. "If you continue to co-operate, there needn't be any unpleasantness here. Do you understand?"

He did. He nodded.

"I'm glad. I'm going to let you speak now, but I'd rather you only do so in answer to my questions. Is that okay? You can say yes or no."

"Yes."

"Excellent…" The man shifted and moved the chair closer. He cupped Jaune's chin and tilted his head so that it faced the mask, staring directly into the thin visor. "I want you to keep looking into my eyes, Jaune, even if you can't see them very well. Worry not. I won't hurt you. I just want to ask you some questions."

"I-I already told you everything," he whimpered. His eyes widened when he realised he'd said more than a yes or a no. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to speak!"

The man chuckled. "That's okay, Jaune. Now then, I've heard your story from my associate here." The other man grunted. "While I'm sure you were being perfectly honest, I must admit that it's a little unbelievable. All I want you to do is confirm a few little things for me. Is that okay?"

"Y-Yes… I'll do anything."

The man stared into his eyes for a moment, and then nodded. "I see you're telling the truth, or at least you believe you are. Well then, let's begin. You are Jaune Arc of Ansel, correct?"

"Yes."

"You recently applied to Beacon Academy, and received your acceptance letter from headmaster Ozpin."

"Yes."

The man tilted his masked face. "You have no training on how to actually _be_ a huntsman."

"Y-Yes…"

"You faked your transcripts."

Jaune lowered his head, or tried to. The man kept it firmly raised. "Yes," he whispered.

"You are in fact an ordinary teen, a civilian without any training and without any ability to fight, let alone an aura to protect you from harm."

Jaune's shame was laid bare. It was all true. He was a fake, a fraud. He'd thought he could make it, and then actually believed he'd get away with it once he got the acceptance letter. Now, in this dark and dingy room, his stupidity was revealed in full. "Yes," he groaned. "Yes to all of those."

The man was silent for a few seconds. When he spoke, it wasn't to Jaune, but instead his `associate`. "He speaks the truth," he said, a hint of surprise – or perhaps disbelief – in his voice.

"Are you sure?"

"It's the truth as he knows it."

"Try again. He might be trained."

What did they mean about training?

The tall man nodded and turned back to Jaune. "Once more, Jaune… you are a normal, untrained civilian?"

Jaune nodded. "Yes."

"You snuck into Beacon for the sole purpose of… what was it?"

"I…" Jaune balked. "I wanted to make my family proud. I wanted to _be_ someone. I want to help people and be a person I can respect."

"Hm, I see." The man chuckled. "Let's try again, then. You snuck into Beacon for the sole purpose of wish fulfilment. Is that correct?"

What little remained of his self-respect shattered. "Yes, sir."

"Again, he tells the truth."

"Impossible."

"Not impossible, simply improbable… and inconvenient." The tall man sighed. "Jaune, look into my eyes once more. These last questions are important. Did you join Beacon with the intent to cause harm to any of the students?"

"What? No!"

"Did you join Beacon in order to acquire anything of value?"

"No."

"Did someone ask you to join Beacon?"

"No."

"Did anyone _suggest_ you join Beacon?"

"No," Jaune said. "My parents hate the idea," he added.

"One final time," the man said. "Are you, Jaune Arc, a normal, untrained civilian?"

"Yes. Yes, I am."

The man stood, releasing Jaune's chin at last. He worked his jaw for a moment, wincing at the fingerprints he could still feel. The two men stood before him. They didn't look down on him, but instead stared at one another.

"Well," the burly one said, "this is awkward."

"Not quite the words I'd have used, my friend."

"You used your Semblance, right? Never mind, I know you did. Damn it, this went bad fast. Do you have any idea how difficult it was getting his body out of that hotel without alerting anyone?"

"No one said you had to do a bag and grab in the middle of the day, my friend."

"He doesn't move at night," Burly said. Jaune figured they needed names. "He literally spends _no_ time outside his hotel room in the evening, not to party, meet friends or even go the corner shop. The kid barely has a life."

Couldn't they have said it a little better than that? Sure, he'd been kidnapped – and was probably going to die – but did they need to drag it out and humiliate him at the same time? His shoulders slumped. Who was he kidding; he might as well savour every last breath he'd get.

"Well, he still has a life right now, and therein lays the problem."

Jaune whimpered.

"Oops," Tall sighed. "I didn't quite think that statement through, did I?"

"Nice work," Burly grunted. He clapped the other man on the shoulder. "Well, my work is done, even if it looks to have been a complete waste of time. I've got to meet with my team. I can trust you to deal with clean up, right?" He shot Jaune a look. "This isn't my cup of tea, if you get my drift."

"Leave it to me," Tall said. The other man nodded and left, leaving Jaune alone with the man who would be his murderer. The door slamming shut deafened him, and in the silence that remained, it was only his heart that could be heard.

The tall man drew a knife.

"P-Please," Jaune whispered, "I don't know anything. I swear. I haven't seen your faces. I wouldn't tell anyone. You can let me go."

"I'm afraid it's not quite that simple, Jaune."

"It is!" Jaune cried, begged. His eyes clenched shut, afraid to see the knife coming, too afraid to face his death like a real huntsman. "I'll do anything, just please – please don't do this." He heard the knife come down. He clenched his teeth and whined loudly.

The rope binding his hands gave way.

Jaune's eyes blinked open. The tall man came into focus, sheathing his knife. He was… he'd released him?

"I already told you," the man sighed. "It's not that simple, Jaune. There's paperwork that needs to be filled in, and we have to have a little chat before we let you go."

Eh?

What?

/-/

After the bare room made of concrete, the plush office he was now sat in felt a little odd. It wasn't the mahogany desk, nor the bookshelf behind it, filled with various tomes from politics to human anatomy. It wasn't the water cooler in the corner, either, which bubbled and gurgled every now and then. All in all, the office was fairly typical, if a little ornate compared to what he was used to. It was what he imagined an incredibly wealthy businessman would have.

None of that was too odd, however. It was more the dark-dressed figure behind it, who _still_ wore his black mask, even as he scribbled down on some paper and hummed under his breath.

Jaune fidgeted in his seat, afraid to move his lands lest the other man see it as a threatening gesture and shoot him. He still had the gun on him somewhere. _What have I gotten myself into this time?_ Jaune wondered. _I was just supposed to sneak into Beacon and try my hand at becoming a huntsman. None of this was supposed to happen!_

Should he say something…? No, that was stupid. He wasn't going to say anything, especially if it might offend the guy and end up getting him killed. Instead, he tried his hardest to look at the man without making it obvious. It was a little easier to make out detail in the light.

He wore a dark-grey, almost black, trench coat, one that didn't jive with the office in the slightest. There were belts around the upper arm and wrist, small things woven into the fabric, but they ensured the coat didn't bulk or flutter in any way. Underneath, he wore a thick jacket of a similar shade, and Jaune felt fairly confident it was some kind of bullet-proof vest or armour. It led up to a grey collar, and then into the black mask. Not an inch of skin showed through the ensemble. The mask itself was odd, a shiny, non-reflective material. Occasionally, he thought he saw a flash of eyes through the slits, but it was too bright, almost artificial.

"Does my appearance disturb you, Jaune?"

"Ah!" Jaune jerked in his seat, rattling the wood and making the leather creak. His reply was immediate. "No."

It was also blatantly false.

The man chuckled. "You needn't worry. I'm not offended. I suppose I don't need to point out I don't look like this beneath the outfit. If you're afraid I'm some monster, I'll assure you I am as human as you are." The mask tilted up to greet him, and Jaune noticed a single ornament, a white triangle underneath the left eye. "I am wearing this for your protection."

"My protection…?"

"Indeed. After all, did you not yourself state you hadn't seen our faces? This helps us maintain the status quo. I might be less inclined to let you go if you knew my identity."

It made sense, and also suggested he might be getting out of this in one piece. Jaune's shoulders relaxed just a little, a tentative smile slipping across his face. "I get it," he said. "Thank you."

"So polite… how nice a change from what I normally deal with." The man paused, but quickly began to write once more. "And the paperwork is done," he said. He placed it aside and cupped his palms together, leaning forward across the desk. "I do apologise for the unpleasantness you've faced today, Jaune. It really wasn't our intention to inconvenience an innocent man so. Well," he chuckled, "a mostly innocent man. You _did_ forge your transcripts after all."

"Am I in trouble for that, sir?"

"From us, no… we have larger issues to concern ourselves with. Of course, you might have been in trouble had it ever come to light." The man tapped his finger on the desk. It was a constant beat, one that made Jaune's stomach clench every time. "You needn't worry about us being the cause of that, however. Tell me, Jaune, and be honest… what do you think we are?"

What kind of question was that? "The police," he said.

"A lie," the man countered. He set his hands down on the table. "The first you've told me today, but I'll forgive it. I asked you to be honest, Jaune. I have a way of telling if you are lying or not."

Jaune cringed. Damn it. That was bad. Well, if the guy wanted honesty? He was already in over his head. If he was going to die, might as well do it pretending to be a man. "I think you're criminals," he said, and then cursed as his voice squeaked. "That or the mob, some kind of mafia…"

The man laughed. He laughed long and loud.

It lasted for a minute or more, and it was only when he'd finally gotten himself under control, that he shook his head and spoke. "Well, I can see why," he said, voice still tinted with mirth. "The circumstances of our meeting were hardly conductive to forming a good first impression. Would you believe me if I said you were closer on your first attempt, on your attempt at a lie?"

"No," Jaune answered, sticking to his honesty. "No, I wouldn't."

"Good. You should not be convinced so easily." The tall man stood, and while Jaune's shoulders tensed, he made no aggressive move. Instead, the figure walked over to the window, standing before it. "Come here, Jaune. What do you see?"

His fear spiked, but he made no complaint as he rose and came over to the man. He was mindful of the window. If he fell – or was pushed – out of it, then it would be a long drop followed by a very abrupt stop. When the other man made no move to harm him, Jaune let his eyes take in the tableau. "I see rooftops," he said. "It's a good view of Vale. We're really high up. There's a street or two, a couple of roads… is there anything in particular I'm looking for?"

"Tell me again. Why is it you wanted to become a huntsman?"

"Wish fulfilment." he grumbled. "Isn't that what you said?"

"I was hasty, and that was perhaps a little cruel of me. I'd like to hear the reasons in your own words."

"It wasn't _entirely_ wish fulfilment," he said. "My father is a huntsman. He's a really strong huntsman. Well-known, respected, admired… he's able to protect people in trouble, and save those who need to be saved. Me? I can't do anything like that." Jaune sighed and closed his eyes. It hurt to admit it, but it wasn't like he could deny this man anything. "I want to be someone I can feel proud of when I look in the mirror. I want to save lives. I want to _be_ someone. It's… I know those aren't the most selfless of reasons, but it's not like I wouldn't do good things as well. If someone was in trouble and I could help them, I would. I want to be capable of being a better person."

"Those are not the worst of reasons to aspire to such a goal. People are inherently selfish. This is a fact of life, so you shouldn't feel too bad about it. At least your brand of selfishness comes with self-awareness, along with the promise that others will benefit." The masked man looked back out the window. "Do you know what _I_ see when I look out there?"

Jaune didn't, but he had a feeling he'd soon find out. He just hoped this wasn't a witty lead up to a `you` one-liner and him being thrown through the glass.

"I see Mrs Miggins bakery," the man said, almost fondly. "I see the Artemis Dust Refinery sales office. I see the little coffee shop I visit in my time off. I see crowds of people, all milling about as they continue on their days. I see mothers. I see fathers. I see children, aunts, and uncles. I see families and those who would think of making their own one day." The man looked to him. "I see life, Jaune. I see Vale. More than that, I see a city of people who have no ideas of the dangers that lurk outside their walls. Grimm, bandits, those who would do them harm… they love in idyllic bliss. Huntsmen and huntresses provide much of their protection, though the average person realises it not."

"Ah…" Jaune swallowed, suddenly feeling a little insignificant. "Yeah…"

"Don't worry. That wasn't a test." The man laughed. "Do you know what else I see, Jaune?"

"What?"

"I see a man who enters Mrs Miggins Bakery every morning at four. He believes he goes unnoticed, but he does not. Mrs Miggins makes an interesting side-business cultivating Class B narcotics, which she sells to a local dealer."

Jaune's eyes widened. He turned to stare at the man, but the mask was looked outside. He had the strangest suspicion the man was smiling.

"I see that the CEO's car is absent from the parking lot of Artemis, meaning that his Financial Director, one Mr Robert green, will be syphoning funds for his own personal use. He's been found out, however. A relatively low-key salesman within the company has seen the evidence. He could take it to the CEO for some small reward, but he intends to blackmail Mr Green himself. The rewards are greater, and our dear sticky-fingered gentleman would rather keep his job and freedom."

"How…" Jaune asked. "How do you know all this?"

"I know, Jaune, because it is my business to know." The man laughed and stepped away from the window. "A huntsman protects the people from the threat that lies without. I, and those like me, protect the people from the threat which lies within. A threat they do not know, which is perhaps for the best…" He paused by a cabinet and pulled out a bottle. "Bourbon?"

"Who… who are you people?"

"I think that's the voice of a man in need of some fortification. It's not poisoned," he said, pouring some of the drink into two glasses. "I wouldn't dare do that to such a fine drink. Would you like me to prove it?"

"Would it matter?" Jaune asked, accepting it with a shaking hand. "If you wanted to kill me, I'd be dead, wouldn't I?"

"You would be, yes." The man lifted the corner of his mask. A small amount of skin flashed, but it was soon gone as he took a sip and lowered it once more.

Jaune did the same, except that he shivered at the taste. It was ridiculously strong – and it wasn't like he'd ever drunk any alcohol before, so he didn't even have anything to compare that to. This seemed like a good time to start drinking though. If it calmed him down, he was all for it.

"Now, then. Isn't that better?"

Surprisingly, yes. It hadn't done much for his nerves, but the drink did settle him a little, and gave him the strength to repeat his question in a more even tone. "Who are you people? What is all of this?"

"Why, my boy…" The man laughed and held his arms wide. "We are the VSS – the Vale Secret Service."

Jaune almost choked on his drink. Almost. He managed to keep it down, but still had to bang his fist against his chest a few times. "The… Secret Service?" he gasped. "Like, spies? From the movies?"

"If that makes it easier for you to understand, sure. We are a Government Agency, one that serves the Kingdom of Vale. Our job is not unlike a huntsman, except that the prey we hunt are far more dangerous."

"More dangerous than Grimm?"

"Indeed, Jaune. After all, the huntsman might hunt the Grimm, but who hunts the huntsman?" The man finished his drink and placed it back down on the table. He didn't sit, even as he pushed Jaune down into the seat once more. "Think on it for a moment. A huntsman can fight off any number of Grimm. How much danger would someone like your father pose, for instance? Imagine if he went rogue and decided he wished to destroy Vale."

He did imagine it. His father never would, of course, but he knew a hypothetical situation when he saw one. Normal people probably wouldn't have any chance against his Dad, and he had a feeling the police wouldn't, either. "I always assumed it was other huntsman who did that."

"Often, it is. For low key or simple criminality, we're not often called in. Our prey is often much larger, and – much like your movies – of the Kingdom-threatening kind. When the people who protect the Kingdom are huntsmen, it's not uncommon for our enemies to be as strong, if not stronger. Otherwise, they would not dare make a move in the first place."

"And you protect Vale?"

"Essentially, yes. We protect the city from the threats few see. As cliché as it may sound, we operate in the shadows, tackling enemies who do much the same."

It sounded insane, but not in an unbelievable sense. He took another sip of the drink, and though the taste was still unpleasant, it did ease his mind a little. It made sense Vale would have people like this, if they were telling the truth, that was. Vale was a Kingdom. All Kingdoms probably muddled around in subterfuge to some degree, and there had been that old war Nicholas used to speak of. The one between Atlas and Vale. It was ages ago, well before he'd been born, but he could imagine an organisation like this being pretty useful in it. There _was_ one thing that didn't add up, however.

"If you're the Vale Secret Service, then why kidnap me? I'm nothing special. I'm definitely no threat." He frowned down at the desk. "It doesn't make sense."

"No, I suppose it does not." The masked man sat back down, leaning his hands atop the desk. "With what we know about you now, it was a rather fruitless effort, but you must understand that we didn't have the benefit of hindsight. In a business like ours, finding an unknown is a unique and startling thing."

"There's no way you know every single person in Vale, though. That would be insane."

"Oh, of course we don't. Not in the way you're thinking. That said, if someone were to appear on our radar, we could run searches to find out who they were." The man waved a hand. "We could access medical records, academic, birth, career… whatever we needed, we could have access to. From this, we could begin to form a picture of whom the person is. You, on the other hand, were much more difficult."

"Because I'm from outside of Vale?"

"Indeed." The mask stared into his eyes. "Frontier towns rise and fall without warning and it's all but impossible to keep accurate records of them. Even those that survive for some time struggle, as the records of those who first founded the town are unlikely to have been brought with them. Even two generations on, we might only have a name at best. With you, we had even less to work on. You simply appeared one day, claiming to be a powerful huntsman and with transcripts that agreed with this analysis."

"Is that so rare? Surely, Beacon gets transfer students all the time. What's so weird about it?"

"Those students tend to have actually been present at the school their transcripts come from, Jaune." The man rebuked. "It took us hardly thirty minutes to discover there were no records of a Jaune Arc at the school you claimed to have graduated at. Do you perhaps see why our attention was roused?"

"Y-Yeah…" Jaune's cheeks burned. Gods, he'd never thought of that, but then again, the whole plan had been bundled together on the fly. He'd just paid for some fake transcripts and hoped for the best. When the acceptance letter from Beacon came, those hopes had seemed about to come true. "I was accepted by Headmaster Ozpin though," he said. "They can't have been that bad."

"They were, Jaune. Trust me." The man sighed. "Well, not like it matters now. You'll be returning to Ansel shortly and I doubt we'll meet one another again."

Jaune's glass froze less than an inch away from his lips. Back in Ansel? Go home? Jaune swallowed, fighting past his nerves, along with the part of him that said to just nod and get this over with. "What about Beacon?" he asked. "I was accepted…"

"You were, but you won't attend. Come now, Jaune. You're hardly trained, let alone competent. Did you think you would be okay there without aura? I take it you haven't heard what the initiation is. They throw you off a cliff into a forest filled with Grimm."

Jaune's face went white.

"What, did you expect someone would help you land? Maybe pick you out of the sky, unlock your aura and carry you to victory?" He laughed. "Honestly, we've saved your life here. You'd have surely died if you entered Beacon with such a naive mindset."

His heart sank down in his chest, ending up somewhere around his stomach. There was no arguing with what the guy said. If that was truly what things were like at Beacon, then he'd have died. Still, this was his dream, something he'd boasted he would achieve to his family. He couldn't see it end here. Not like this. Not without even trying. "I won't give up…"

His captor paused. "Excuse me?"

"I said that I won't give up. I can't! I've already come this far, I've already risked so much."

"Have you? From where I'm sitting, the only risks you've taken are securing fake transcripts. There would have been risks ahead, yes, but you haven't taken them yet."

"It's the same thing," he argued. "I can't give up on this."

"You are determined to pursue this foolishness?"

"I am."

He expected anger. He expected irritation or stern words. What he received was a curious tilt to the man's head as it came down to rest on one hand. "Interesting," he said. "Very interesting. Make no mistake, you _are_ a security leak for us, Jaune. You might say you would never talk of us, but you've already shown a little pressure can make you quite verbose."

Jaune's cheeks darkened, but he stood his ground.

"There is also your ability to survive which ought to be taken into account. There are but a few days until Beacon begins, and right now you are one initiation away from being food for the Grimm. I expect you have no plans or ideas for how to become strong in so short a time."

"I… well, I…"

"I thought not."

He felt shame pool inside of him, but it was quickly washed away when the man filled his glass once more.

"Then again, it's not like I didn't already think of this."

Jaune's hand froze on the glass. "Huh?"

"Answer me truthfully, Jaune. Do you think I need to fill in paperwork to deal with someone like you? Do you truly believe it is not within my power to ship you away to Ansel myself?" The man chuckled. "I can assure you it is. I could have you barred from the city, exiled in disgrace, and perhaps with a criminal record to boot. Thievery, Assault and Battery, Sexual Assault. It is within my power and would even be to your benefit. I didn't need to bring you here, nor talk to you of who we are and what we do."

And yet he had. Jaune's brow creased as he considered that, and in fact the idea that he'd been kidnapped in the first place. Sure, he'd been suspicious, but would something like the VSS really do something like this on a whim? They had to be worried about something. Very worried.

"You want something from me," he said. "That's why you brought me here. You want something."

"A good intellect. No common sense, as can be seen from your decision to apply for Beacon unable to defend yourself, but common sense can be learned. You are shrewd, adaptable. The fact you leapt straight to forgery shows a… flexibility of character that others might struggle with."

It didn't take a genius to figure out the man meant moral flexibility. Jaune winced and looked away. If his Mom heard about this? Yeah, he was seventeen now, but he had a feeling she'd be more than willing to bend him over her knee.

"Remind me, Jaune. What were your reasons for wishing to become a huntsman again?"

"I want to be someone. I want to feel proud of myself. I want to help people, to make a difference." His eyes hardened. "I want to do a job that _means_ something."

The man leaned forward.

"In that case, have you ever considered life as a Secret Agent?"

Jaune's mouth fell open. "You… You want to hire me!?"

"Does that sound so unusual?"

Yes. At least, that was what came to his mind immediately. On further thought, it didn't seem quite so crazy an idea, at least from their point of view. He was an outsider, which meant that in the same way his records didn't show up to them, they likely wouldn't appear to any other people either. On the other side of things, this almost seemed obvious. Why else would he have bothered with the talk earlier, with explaining how much he knew and what the VSS did?

Why explain all of that to someone you were just going to ship off to a frontier town and forget?

"Why?" Jaune asked. "There has to be some reason. Why would you want _me_ of all people? I'm weak. I'm useless."

"Weak, yes. Useless, no. We are not an organisation which values brute strength, so your relative lack of ability isn't quite a concern. More than that, we can train you to be stronger. Our Agents aren't always of the huntsman calibre. Some are politicians, others are diplomats, some are merely in our employ and run stores and shops in Vale or even the other Kingdoms." The man tapped his desk with one finger. "We value the position a person holds as much as we do their potential, and your position is an interesting one indeed…"

"Because of my lack of records?"

"Partly, but that is not the full picture. You have already been accepted into Beacon. Our work has led us to be… concerned as to the future of the school. We need someone on the inside, and believe me – we _have_ people on the inside. Our problem is that not all are as inconspicuously conspicuous as you."

"Uh… what?"

"Your lack of records makes you difficult to track, but they also make you stand out," the man explained. "Those in our kind of work will find this suspicious and investigate, but given that criminals cannot simply ruin their disguise by kidnapping you, they will approach you in secret instead. There, the truth of your past comes into play." He waved a hand. "You tell the truth, and when they delve deeper, they will find the signs and come to the same conclusion. Your story checks out knowing you come from a frontier town, and suspicion will be quickly diverted."

"Kind of like a double bluff?"

"Yes. More than that, you _will_ be weak going into Beacon. No amount of training from us will make up for the years you've missed at a prep school. If you'll forgive me saying, you do not exactly fit the image of a Government Agent. You're outspoken, unconfident, clumsy, untrained…"

Jaune fidgeted as the man listed off his worst aspects. When the list reached about eight adjectives, his brow twitched. "Okay, I think I get it!" He had the distinct feeling the asshole was smiling beneath the mask.

"I'm glad to see it. Suffice to say, no one would think it possible that you were a spy. Even if I asked my best agents to pretend to be so weak, their instincts would shine through. It is hard to let your guard down, and even harder to lose fights against teenagers." The man cocked his head. "I have a feeling that will come naturally to you."

"Wow, thanks…" Jaune rubbed his face with one hand and let out a long sigh. "So, I'm perfect because I'm weak and no one would expect that I could be a spy?"

"It's not quite as bad as it sounds. We would want you to disguise yourself as a young man entering a new school. What better applicant than someone who is just that? There is something more, however. One final thing which trumps everything else." The man helped himself to the rest of his bourbon before he continued. "I want you to make an informed decision on this, Jaune, so I shall be honest. The reasons I just gave are all relevant, but there is one other which counts above all others. If it wasn't for this, I'd never have considered you a viable candidate."

Jaune straightened. A part of him had thought everything seemed a little too good to be true, a little too convenient. He ticked all the boxes, sure, but a Government agency like this wouldn't just drag a random person off the street. "I'm listening," he said.

"Your transcripts were fake, Jaune." the man said. "They were obviously fake. They did not fool us, and would not have fooled anyone else. Despite this, you were accepted into Beacon. Curious. Is it not?"

"Maybe someone overlooked it."

"In our line of work, you'll find that nothing is left to assumption. Ozpin is a shrewd and intelligent man, but he is one with his own agenda. An agenda which has left some people rather nervous."

"What kind of agenda?"

"That, I cannot tell you. Understand that everything you have learned so far is knowledge we can disavow with ease. No one would believe you if you were to speak of it, and nothing would cause us any trouble."

"Knowing this would?" Jaune guessed.

The man nodded.

"We're moving into the area of operational secrets there, I'm afraid. Suffice it to say, what I wanted you to be aware of is that our primary interest in you comes as a result of the unknown interest the headmaster has already shown. You did not fool him. He chose to accept you even though he knew you were neither trained nor ready for the responsibility. This has made us understandably curious."

"That's the real reason you kidnapped me, isn't it?"

"It was the final nail in the coffin, yes. You sparked our interest for the other reasons I gave you, but it was Ozpin's interest that made your capture… shall we say, a little more rushed than we might otherwise have liked." He held his arms out. "I apologise. We didn't have the time to waste. What we did, we did in the best interests of the Kingdom."

"Because that's what you do, right? You protect the Kingdom from the threats no one else sees."

"Indeed." The man stood. "It is not the most glamourous of work. It is not the most famous of work. It _is_ well-paid, and it _is_ good work we do, but I shan't lie to you, Jaune. The work is hard, frightening and often dangerous. The VSS looks after its own. You will never be betrayed by us. You will never be abandoned. We can't _afford_ to allow the secrets an Agent might hold to fall into enemy hands, so trust that we would always come for you." He sighed. "That said, you are seventeen and hardly qualified to be a huntsman, let alone a spy for the Kingdom."

Jaune swallowed. "Yet you're offering it to me anyway."

"We are."

"And this is the only way I'm going to be allowed into Beacon, isn't it?"

"It is." The man said, sighing. "Make no mistake, I am not doing this in order to force your hand. If you choose not to accept this offer, I will respect that choice, but I will _not_ send a young man to his death. I won't allow you to enter and die at Beacon. You will be sent back to Ansel, and I shall personally see to you taking some lien away with you to sweeten the deal." The man waved a hand. "If you wish to be proud of yourself and make a difference, there are many ways to do it. You could become a doctor, a civil servant, a teacher. You could work on reforming criminals or charity. There are any number of careers that don't involve risking your life for-"

"No."

The man paused.

"No," Jaune repeated. Whispered. He had to attend Beacon. It was his dream, and maybe it was selfish, but… it was still his dream. This wouldn't be the same, but in a better way. He wouldn't just be going as a huntsman. He'd be a Secret Agent, too. "I'll do it."

"Are you sure? You would no longer be a free individual, Jaune. You would belong to the VSS. You would be an Agent. We will pay you, but the choice on when to leave our organisation would not be yours. People retire, but you would be unable to do so until after Beacon at least. For security reasons, of course." The mask bore down on him. "Your life would be in danger. Make no mistake, and do not believe this like the movies. If you fail here, you _will_ die."

Fear settled on him. He would die, wouldn't he? Was he prepared for that? Had he even thought about that? The answer was no. He hadn't considered death, even when it meant fighting Grimm. It scared him. It scared him more than he dared admit. And that disgusted him. _Dad wouldn't be scared. He'd do what had to be done. He'd fight this head on._ All you need is a little confidence, right? Jaune took a deep breath and let it go. When his eyes opened they weren't calm, but they could have been mistaken for it at a distance. More than that, he knew what he wanted – and what he had to do to achieve it. He was afraid. But he was also ready to face that. If he were to be afraid of death, then it wasn't just a job as a Secret Agent he should abandon. He'd best give up his dream of being a huntsman too.

"I'm in," Jaune said. "I know I'm not the strongest or the smartest, but I can learn. I'm determined to help people, too. Please believe me. I want to be a huntsman to protect people. That's what you do here. If I have to choose between both or neither?" He shrugged. "I choose both. I'll be a huntsman _and_ a spy."

The man smiled. He placed two fingers down on the desk, atop the paperwork he'd been filling in either. It swivelled around and was then pushed toward him, a pen atop it. Jaune looked down at it.

It was a contract.

"Then all you need do is sign on the dotted line. If you are sure, that is. You can still back out. I'll think no less of you, but I _will_ think less if you sign this for foolish reasons now, and lose that commitment later." The man pressed his fingers down harder. "This isn't a game. People's lives will be at stake. _Your_ life will be at stake. If you are serious about being something, about becoming something more than you are right now… then sign this paper. Otherwise, put the pen down."

Jaune's hands were clammy. He reached for the pen, and had to work hard to pick it up for how much his hands shook. His eyes breezed over the document, and he felt his stomach drop at mentions of secrecy clauses, sentences should he betray them, even mentions of being locked away. Every part of his mind told him to put the pen down. Don't sign it. Walk away. Go back to Ansel and live a safer life.

This was insane. Stupidity. Madness!

He scribbled down his name. He signed away his fate.

The contract was tugged away before he even had a chance to regret it. The man signed his own name alongside it and then tucked the sheet of paper away. One hand reached up to his mask, and it clicked and hissed a little. Jaune's breath was caught as it was removed, revealing a middle-aged man beneath. He had a narrow and pale face set with brown eyes. His most distinctive feature was his hair, which fell down beside and behind his face. It was a vibrant green.

"Welcome to the Vale Secret Service, Mr Arc," he said. His voice sounded different. "Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck at your service. Director of Operations for the VSS, and now _your_ direct superior. Welcome to the Organisation, Field Agent."

Jaune smiled warily in return. He'd made a lot of mistakes in his life, some more devastating than others, but all of which he'd come to regret in time.

He hoped this wouldn't be one of them.

* * *

 **This chapter is slightly shorter than what I'd expect as the average, which is 7-8k words (same length as PA chapters were). I always have shorter intros since they work so well. Anyway, a few of you might notice some teensy tiny similarities with how Professor Arc started. In all honesty, when I came up with Professor Arc, I came up with a few others as well.**

 **Namely, there were three fics based around a Goldilocks concept.**

 **Professor Arc: Jaune tried his transcripts but they were** _ **too good**_ **. He then became a professor.**

 **Service with a Smile: Jaune tried his transcripts but they** _ **weren't good enough**_ **and he was rejected. He then became a café owner.**

 **In the Kingdom's Service: Jaune tried his transcripts and they were** _ **just right**_ **. Unfortunately, that drew suspicion and got him forced into the secret service.**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 23rd July**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, I am still badly ill – and I've visited the doctor today. Had to have some blood tests done, which I hate with a passion, but hopefully nothing will come of it. It's affected a lot of my fics in the last 2-3 days. Sorry about that.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

* * *

"I'll admit, we normally take more time when it comes to inducting someone into the VSS. Yours is something of a rushed case, so I apologise for the hasty tour. I don't think I'll have the time to introduce you to important members of staff, and perhaps that's for the best."

Jaune nodded as he walked alongside his new boss. For the past thirty-five minutes or so, the two had wandered around the interior of what was definitely a large building. He'd been told they were on the thirty-fifth floor, but he knew little else. What people he'd met were close lipped, and most only stood long enough to shake his hand and mumble some well-wishes. All in all, he'd took on pretty much nothing. As Oobleck had implied, that was probably on purpose.

 _No matter what I agreed to, I'm still a risk in their eyes. He probably doesn't want me to know too much in case someone finds me out._ He'd admit to the thought frightening him, but it was too late for second thoughts. "How long do you normally take for a new agent?"

"For induction training? Normally a few days. There are introductions, tours, important meetings to determine their honesty, health and safety procedures, fire tests." Oobleck chuckled. "Even with what we are, we're still an employer and must go through such hoops. That's just to let a person work here. To send them out into the field? Why, that can take a year or more."

Jaune's eyes widened. "A _year_!?"

"Surprised? You need to understand that when we take someone on, we're making an investment. Sending someone out before they're ready could lead to their capture, and the lives of other agents being put at risk. We take our responsibilities seriously."

"But it's less than a week until Beacon."

"Yes, things will need to be different for you." Oobleck paused by a door and pushed it open. "Come, this is my personal office. We can talk more in here."

Jaune nodded and stepped in when offered. The office was much larger than the last one, with a back wall covered in book shelves and a long desk before it. Although there was a single chair behind it, there were also two couches by a side wall, along with a water tower and some potted plants. No windows, but instead wood panelled walls with the occasional painted picture.

"Wasn't that your office before?"

"That's more of a communal one for interviewing people. Should I have been called out for whatever reason, there would have been nothing of value for you to find." Oobleck moved over to a wooden cabinet and procured two glasses. Water instead of bourbon seemed the order of the day. "Sometimes we use that office to pass on misinformation. You'd be surprised how many people feel brave enough to sift through the drawers when they think they're alone. This is my real office."

"It's nice," he said, sipping his water.

"Thank you. I did not bring you here to show off, however." He gestured to one of the couches. "Take a seat. Make yourself comfortable. Although rushed, I think it's time we talked about what the VSS will expect of you, and what we will provide."

What they expected, huh? Come to think of it, this was his first ever real job, not including the local paper delivery he'd done as a kid. With a nod, he sat down on the couch, crossing both hands in his lap.

"If you have any questions, feel free to interrupt. I need you to be fully informed." Oobleck drew out his seat and sat down. "As you know, you'll be attending Beacon Academy in only a few days. You're not prepared for that right now, but we'll work on that soon enough. What I want your attention on is the tasks you might be expected to perform at Beacon." Oobleck nodded to the desk to the side of him. "Open that briefcase there."

Jaune's hand hovered over it. "Is it safe?"

"I wouldn't tell you to open it if it wasn't. It's a lapscroll computer. Nothing more."

Jaune pulled the case out onto his lap and opened it. True to the man's words, it was a shiny black computer, thin and sleek, with a design that looked new. There were no markings on it to denote branding or where it was from, but it wouldn't have looked out of place in any computer store. Jaune brought it out and turned it over. "Is this for me?"

"Yes. It is a state-sponsored lapscroll system, although you should be sure to inform any friends you make that it's a personal gift from a family member. If you open and start it, you'll see it runs on a typical operating system. The password is quite simply; password. Try it now."

He wasn't sure why Oobleck wanted him to log in, but he did so anyway. The screen flickered onto a normal background – a simple blue with a computer logo.

"Feel free to use this for whatever schoolwork you need to, and if needs be, I'd even let any friends make use of it as well. Our advice would be to leave the password as that. It's obvious enough to serve its purpose."

"Are you saying it's so obvious no one would try it?"

Oobleck smiled and scribbled something down on a piece of paper. "Not quite. Log out again, but don't shut it down. Now, try typing this password into it instead."

Jaune took the paper and looked at it. Qoe97dX94x. It took him a try to get it right, what with the switched between capitals and not, but once he had, he hit the key. An error box appeared to inform him he had the wrong password. "It didn't work."

"Try it again," Oobleck urged.

"Still nothing."

"And a third time."

Jaune's brow creased, but he followed his boss' instructions and entered it for the third time in a row. This time, there was no error box – and the screen instead flashed black. A single white bar flickered in the top left corner. Designation, it read.

"Type in `Jaune` for now. You'll receive your official designation once your training is complete."

Jaune did so and clicked the enter key, before his eyes widened. The screen flashed blue and transformed before his eyes, turning to a desktop background of the Vale symbol of arms imposed over a statement written in a language he didn't recognise.

"What you have there is a computer within a computer. To anyone who logs into it, it has the full functionality one would expect of a personal lapscroll. Like I said, feel free to let any friends use it. That will only reinforce its image. On the other hand, should you enter the correct password three times in a row, and then your designation – you will be brought onto the VSS remote database. Here, you will have access to things beyond the capabilities of anyone else in Vale."

"Things like what…?"

"If your clearance is high enough, you'll be able to access personal and medical records of any citizen. You can browse criminal records, assorted information we've dug up, or even financial transactions made by someone on the other side of the city." Oobleck leaned forward. "That's if you have the clearance… you do not. Yet."

Jaune looked up, confused. "Will I get it?"

"One day, perhaps. Certainly not at first by any rate. If you look to the programs, there should be one called Operator. Do you see it? That will open a direct communication link between yourself and the Operator HQ here in the VSS. We have people who work in that department on shifts, and it will be available twenty-four hours a day. If you need any information you do not have clearance for, you may speak to them and request it. Provided it passes approval, the information you desire will be forwarded to you." Oobleck waved a hand. "You can also ask for advice, instruction, support, reinforcements, resupply or any number of things. If you need something and are not sure whether we can provide it, ask. There is no harm and you'd be surprised how far Operations can reach."

That sounded amazing… and also a little frightening. There was an old saying about power and responsibility, wasn't there? "And it's okay for me to use this for my own purposes?"

"Within reason, yes. If you're thinking of having people do your homework for you, I'd advise you reconsider."

"T-The thought never crossed my mind," Jaune lied. It took him a second to remember the man had some strange ability to see through those, and his cheeks burned. "Uh… it was just a joke?"

"I'm glad to hear it, Jaune. Your education is very important, even if you _are_ a Secret Agent. You might occasionally receive missions or assignments through that as well, so you should make it a habit to log in at least once a day. If we need you for anything more urgent, we will find a way to contact you."

"Missions? I thought you just wanted me to attend Beacon and report back on things."

"Don't worry. I didn't lie to you. Your assignments will likely be people to watch, or things we would like you to try and find out. That said, there is a chance we might request your presence on a field operation. If so, you'll know about it in advance." Oobleck saw the anxious look on his face. "You needn't fear, Jaune. As I've said, it's not in our interests to throw you to the wolves. Any mission we bring you on would not only be within your capabilities to complete, but an almost certain success. We do not take risks unless they are necessary. To be frank, you're not good enough to be sent on those kinds of missions… the ones where thousands of lives are in the balance."

What might normally have been an insult instead brought a breath of relief. Those kinds of things sounded great in the movies, but the sudden thought of missions had left him panicked beyond belief. "So, I won't need to do missions outside of Beacon?"

"We may have you do some, but you can rest assured that they will be simple affairs. Mostly things to introduce you to the job and your role." Oobleck paused, and then let out a quiet sigh. "If all goes well, that is. There's no telling what the future holds, especially in our line of work."

Jaune nodded and closed the computer with a click. "What's next, then?"

"Next is training," Oobleck said. He gestured to put the computer down and come over to the desk, and Jaune did. "I do not want to mislead you, Jaune. Even with what training I can personally give, you will not be at the level of any of the other students. They have had years to learn. While I shall push you harder than many of them, there is little I can do for five to six years of hard work – especially in the conditioning department. Stamina and strength are things you will build over time. They have the advantages there."

"I understand." He'd always known that, of course. It was hard not to. Then again, he hadn't been a complete slouch himself. There was no way he'd worked as hard as people like that, but that didn't mean he'd lazed off. _I guess I'll see how big the difference is when I get to Beacon._ Jaune looked about the office. "Are we going to be training here?"

"In my office? I hope not. We have training rooms for this kind of thing. Before that, however, I need to unlock your aura."

"Aura?"

"Don't tell me you don't even know…" Oobleck sighed. "Never mind. I'll fill you in on what it is during training, but for now let's focus on unlocking it. It will make training easier." He reached out and placed a hand on Jaune's shoulder. His eyes closed.

Jaune felt something stir within him.

"For it is in duty that we become guardians. Through this, we prevent the mistakes of the past being made anew. Infinite in scope and unbound by pride, I release your soul, and by my hand redeem thee."

The words meant little, but they resonated nonetheless. For a second, he thought it was because of some hidden depth, but he soon realised his body actually _was_ resonating. "W-Whoah. I feel… I feel different. Good." He looked down at his arms. "I'm glowing?"

"That, Jaune, would be your aura. It seems you have a lot of it, which ought to serve you well. Come now. Are you ready to put it to the test?"

Was he? Jaune grinned and nodded. He felt better than he ever had before. It felt like he could take on a hundred men, even a thousand. He felt healthier than he had, sturdier, more confident.

He felt strong.

"I'm ready for anything!"

/-/

Jaune wasn't ready for the way Oobleck caught the dagger on his arm. The blade hit, but sparked off his aura. That gave the taller man the chance to catch his wrist, twist it painfully, and then hammer the pommel of his own knife into Jaune's throat. It could have been the blade, but Oobleck hadn't once deigned to use that on him.

Not that it made a difference. Jaune fell to his knees regardless, hacking for breath.

"Not bad. You're learning." Oobleck took a step back and picked up a water bottle. He tossed it over, and watched as Jaune drank greedily from it. "You need more aggression with your assault. The dagger is a weapon that incentivises close quarters combat. Once you're upon your foe, it's more versatile than any sword, but you need to close that distance. Don't let your opponent create more either. Stay on them."

"Yeah, I get that…" He gasped as he pushed himself up, and even then, he swayed a little to the left. They'd been sparring for almost thirty minutes now, which was less time than it felt, but more time than he'd expected. This aura stuff was crazy. Oobleck had explained it all to him, but the ways it could be used…? No wonder Dad never seemed to get worn out.

"You're tired. Take a break."

"I can keep going."

"We'll continue in a little while, Jaune. Driving yourself into exhaustion now doesn't serve any purpose. Take a break. That's an order."

And this was just military enough for that to mean something. Jaune's teeth clicked together as he bit down on his instinctive response. This wasn't like school, or anything else he'd ever been involved in. Something told him it wouldn't be a good idea to push his luck here. He didn't want to annoy Oobleck either. The guy had been nothing but helpful so far. Best not to change that.

"Why a dagger, though?" he had to ask. "I have a sword and shield. Why don't we train with those?"

Oobleck moved over and leaned against the wall next to him. He didn't seem upset at the question. In fact, he seemed willing to answer each and every question Jaune had, and with more patience than he'd have expected. "It's precisely because you have a sword and shield that I won't train you in them. Even when Beacon begins, we shall find a way to continue this. If you were to improve in leaps and bounds, it might draw attention to you. Your progress in Beacon should be measured and believable given the lessons you receive there."

"Right… so I still have to suck in Beacon?"

"This will improve your speed, stamina and flexibility. Those will help no matter the weapon you use, but for the most part, yes. The teachers at Beacon will help you improve in your chosen weapon. If you are ever on missions for us however, I want you to focus on a different one." He tapped between his eyes. "People might notice similarities in fighting styles, and we don't want that."

"Wait, you want me to always use a knife when I'm doing my spy work?"

"I want you to never use Crocea Mors," Oobleck countered. "It's too distinctive a weapon. Whether you choose to use a knife, gun, or a pike is your own choice. I'm simply training you in an easy and versatile one to start."

"A dagger is easy? It's shorter than just about anything else."

"It's size is its greatest advantage, not to mention its versatility." He tossed his own dagger in the air and caught it by the blade. "A knife can be thrown if it's well-balanced, and you can rest assured ours are. It can be concealed and drawn easily, and slipped between a man's ribs before he – or any witnesses – can see it."

Jaune's face paled. "Will I-"

"No. It was just an example. You won't be sent on assassinations. It is a rare day we have such a mission. The point is that you cannot hide a sword easily, but can a knife. As for its use in combat, it's true that you are at a disadvantage unless you are close – but that should not be a problem for you. In fact, you are perfect for knife fighting."

"I am? How?"

Oobleck smiled and flicked his hand out. The dagger shot towards him, and Jaune's eyes widened. He tried to catch it, but fumbled and winced as it hit his arm. The blade bounced off and clinked onto the floor.

"What was that for?"

"To prove a point, my boy. I believe I said it before, but your aura is unusually large. Your stamina may be lower, but you can build that up in time. For now, your biggest advantage will be your ability to take hits without consequence. As such, you negate the biggest disadvantage of using a dagger as weapon."

Jaune winced. "You want me to just rush in and let them hit me?"

"Essentially… yes…" Oobleck smiled apologetically. "I will train you to defend and attack without risking yourself, but if you are ever faced by a more skilled opponent – and that seems likely – then it is still best to have another option. Most people would be forced to flee, but by accepting that you will lose the initial exchange, you have the option of taking the damage but closing the distance. Once you're within their guard, the advantage of whatever weapon they have will be lost. Once you're in close, there's not all that much skill involved. As you become better with it, you'll be able to do more – much like I did in our spar, but even an amateur knows how to stab and slash. For thousands of years, the knife has been the tool of killers and bandits, precisely because of how easy it is to use."

Killers and bandits, huh? Not exactly what he wanted to be associated with, but he could see the point. "This is only if I have to fight someone, isn't it? While I'm in Beacon, you just want me to use my sword and act like a normal student."

"While that is true, you'll also need to do missions out in the field at times." Oobleck took on a lecturing tone. "Imagine for instance that you have found someone you feel is suspicious. You run through some background checks, and things don't look any better. Worse, they disappear at night and you have no idea where they go. What would you do?"

"I… guess I'd have to follow them."

"Precisely. Knowing that you might be entering dangerous territory, however, and also knowing that you do not want _them_ to know you are the one following them, you would need a disguise. If it then came to combat or self-defence."

"And I can't use the gear they'd recognise. I get it."

"It's also a hypothetical situation. For the record, should you find someone suspicious, you should contact the HQ through your computer. We might send a different Agent to tail them for you, or even assign other Agents in Beacon to help you. There's no need to risk yourself alone."

That caught his attention. His head perked up. "You have other people in Beacon?"

"Yes, of course. We have a particular interest in Beacon at the current time, but we've always had an Agent or two in the school at any given time. It is, after all, the future of huntsmen. We have a vested interest in keeping the academy running safely."

"How many do you have so far?"

"In total, three others not including yourself." Oobleck said. "Do not ask for their names as I shall not give them. They will be made aware of you and your identity, but only because I have requested they offer assistance should you need it."

"Isn't it a bad thing for them to know my identity?"

"Normally, yes, but they are more experienced than you. You will just need to trust me on this, Jaune. You may have a chance to meet with and go on missions with them, but they will not reveal themselves even then. You will know them by their code names."

His eyes lit up. "Do I get a code name?"

Oobleck laughed. "I should have known that would excite you. Yes, you will receive one – but not until you depart for Beacon. At the moment, you are still a junior Agent. Hopefully by the time you leave, you will be skilled enough to maintain your disguise." He pushed off the wall and drew another knife from his belt. "Now come. You've had your rest and I believe it's time for us to spar once more. Be aggressive, and stop trying to wield that thing like a three-foot blade."

Jaune growled and picked his up again. His eyes flashed as he also grabbed the one Oobleck had dropped earlier and launched it at the man.

Oobleck parried it out of the air, but laughed when Jaune attacked with his own. "Better, my boy. Better! To defeat criminals, we must think like them. Now, let me show you a few other ways to fight dirty…"

/-/

By the time evening gave way to night, every muscle in Jaune's body felt like it was on fire. The two of them had trained for hours, although every half of that was spent resting and taking in information as Oobleck explained things such as basic protocol, when to call for aid, what he could and couldn't do – and much, much more.

Honestly, it was hard to take everything on, but he'd been assured that if in doubt, he could ask one of the HQ operators through the computer, and they would explain more. Fitting what was a year or two of information into him in as many days wasn't ever going to go well, but he tried his best to take everything in.

After training came training of a different kind, more specifically of the mind. Oobleck had brought him back to his office and sat him down, whereupon he'd been put through the most intensive political and historical lecture of his life. Luckily, most of it seemed to be focused on Vale and not the other Kingdoms, except for their stances towards Vale. A lot of emphasis was also put on faunus rights, the faunus war, and the White Fang.

"They are, without a doubt, one of the largest threats of this day and age," Oobleck explained. "Although mostly unsuccessful in their goals thus far, they have proven themselves capable of fighting against the SDC, Atlas military – and the law enforcement of each of the four Kingdoms. That a single organisation could do this all at once speaks well of their leadership."

"I get that," Jaune said, rubbing a hand against his eye. He stifled a yawn. "It's just that I'm not infiltrating the White Fang. Is this really necessary information?"

"Yes, Jaune. It is."

"I'll-" He yawned. "I'll take your word for it."

"You're tired?"

Jaune shook his head. "No, it's fine. I can keep going."

"I appreciate your enthusiasm, but there's no need." Oobleck reached forward and tugged the thick book from his hands. It was probably testament to how tired he was that he couldn't even stop him. "This is your first day, and you've already learned more than most are expected to. You've done well." He walked over to put the book down on his desk, then turned around once more. "Tell me, it's your first real day of being a Secret Agent. Is it what you expected?"

"Ah well, I guess?" Jaune scratched his cheek and laughed. "I mean, I need to learn everything from scratch, so I figured it would be like this. There was still a part of me that imagined it being like the movies though."

"All action, gunfire and women?"

Jaune flushed. "Well, more like suave suits, drinks and fancy gadgets."

"Well, you've already enjoyed some fine bourbon," Oobleck said with a chuckle. He stepped over to his bookcase and pushed the one Jaune had been reading from back in. "As for suits, you might be expected to wear one if we ever send you on a mission to infiltrate a formal dinner, so don't rule it out yet. As for gadgets…?"

Oobleck pulled on a different book. There was a loud click, followed by a whirr, as the bookcase shifted back and then slid away.

"I don't recall saying there were none of those…"

Jaune's mouth fell open. Behind the bookcase was a white wall, backlit by bright lights. On it, attached to various hooks, was what looked like a human figure, except that close inspection showed it was simply clothing arranged in the shape of a human. There was a long trench coat, trousers with armoured knees, boots, gloves – even a mask. All of them were in a charcoal grey so dark it bordered on black. Around the outfit were various weapons, too. Or at least what he assumed were weapons.

The outfit was shorter than Oobleck. It was clear it wouldn't fit the man, and Jaune swallowed nervously. "Is that… for me?"

"It is. Our uniform and armour, at least when we must act in an overt manner. The fabric is highly resistant and reinforced with dust weaving. The vest contains strips of plate and ceramic armour to help reduce the force of any impacts. The coat is fire retardant and also coated to be resistant to many acidic substances. Everything is armoured. Everything is protected." Oobleck pulled the mask off and threw it towards him. "Here. Try this on."

Jaune stared down at it. The thing was black – and possibly the only part of the outfit that actually was plain black. It reflected the light slightly, and there was a blue tint to the eyes. In terms of decoration, there was nothing. No paint, no pattern, and no raised ridges. It was completely smooth, even though it tapered out to allow for the nose.

"Isn't it a little obvious?" he had to ask. "I thought we were trying to be subtle."

"When this uniform comes into play, it's clear that subtly has failed us. This is combat gear, Jaune. Once you don this. Once the enemy _sees_ it… the time for stealth has been abandoned. All that is important is that you come out alive, and that your true identity remains hidden. Put the mask on."

Jaune nodded and turned it over, noting the strange shape of the interior. There was a lot of padding around the mouth area, along with some fuzzy microphones. There was also a visor before the eyes, but the nose itself seemed mostly clear. It was also wide enough to wrap around most of his face, and even cover the ears.

"Put it on now?"

"Yes. There are things you need to see about it."

"Huh. Well, okay…" It didn't have any straps, but knowing Oobleck might become impatient, he pressed it against his face. The interior was soft and comfortable enough, but he flinched when something wrapped around his head.

"Don't worry. It's simply adjusting itself to fit you. This is Atlas Tech, and it adheres to your aura."

"R-Right." It wasn't uncomfortable, just surprising. After a few seconds, the strange sensation was gone entirely, and he was able to let go of the mask without it falling. "It's not as bad as I thought. The air is just as fresh, and it feels pretty good."

"If you are speaking, I cannot hear you," Oobleck said. "There is a button beneath your left ear. Press it and that will allow you to speak out loud."

"Oh. Like this?"

Oobleck nodded. "Yes, now I hear you. The mask uses microphones to play out your voice, but unless you hold that button, your words will be silent. If you operate with a team, everyone's masks will be synchronised, allowing you to communicate with one another without the risk of being overheard."

"Convenient." There were one or two other buttons, but he didn't dare touch them. "You said this was Atlas tech? Is it normal for us to use that?"

"Not at all. This is top secret Atlas developmental technology. Its existence is unknown even to many within the Atlas military." Oobleck crossed his arms and smiled. "We did not steal it, if that's what you are thinking. It was a gift from the ASF – the Atlas Special Forces. You might think of them as the VSS equivalent for their Kingdom."

"And they just gave you these? I know you said we're in an alliance with them, but isn't it a bit risky for them to give away technology they haven't even perfected yet?" From the lessons he'd been through earlier, Oobleck had made it clear Atlas' biggest advantage was their technology. "It just seems odd that the Council of Atlas would agree to this."

"Oh, they know nothing of it… nor does General Ironwood and the Atlas military."

"Eh…?"

"This was an agreement between ourselves and the ASF," Oobleck explained. "Truth be, even they were not supposed to know of its existence, but people like ourselves have a disturbing tendency to notice suspicious actions and investigate. Once they found out about it, they repurposed it for their own use."

"And then gave it to us?"

"You must understand, my boy. Atlas is a relatively new Kingdom – at least in terms of its development. Up until the colour revolution, it was known as Mantle and run as a Monarchy. When the civil war happened, the original agency sided with the royalists. They were destroyed when Mantle fell, and what was left of them were disbanded when it became Atlas." Oobleck nodded towards the weapons behind him. "You cannot trust a disloyal spy, and it's better to start anew to ensure loyalty."

"That led to problems however," he went on. "A new agency required new leaders, new staff, and new agents. Removing any and all material from the old one also left them without much in the way of a network, contacts, or even resources. The newly founded ASF were not in a good situation, despite generous funding from the newly elected Council. They needed help… otherwise the other Kingdoms would steal a march on them in a moment of weakness. Desperate, they turned to their closest allies. They turned to us."

"To the VSS, I take it?"

"Indeed. Such an arrangement was unheard of, and they were wary of going through official channels. Instead, they reached out to us directly, and requested assistance, training and the use of our resources to let them build up a spy network within Atlas. You must understand, this was a dangerous thing for them. Had we desired to, we might have formed a network with holes we could exploit. We might also have set them up for invasion, so those were tense and difficult times. What they offered in exchange for such help was attractive, however."

"Atlas tech," Jaune said, catching on. "The most advanced technology in Remnant."

"Indeed. Things we could never hope to purchase or steal on our own, and they would continue to provide us with it, so long as we aided and co-operated with them. Over the past few decades, our bond has grown stronger still. It is no exaggeration to say that the VSS and the ASF are close allies. Why, we still sometimes help to train new agents for them, particularly promising ones. While the ASF have incredible technological advantages, the VSS has always had the benefit of the best training, the most experience, and the highest quality agents in our employ. This is because we have had centuries to build ourselves and our techniques up. The ASF have had less than thirty years to do the same. We have some agents with that much experience under their belts."

It sounded complicated. He didn't know enough to say whether it was a good deal or not, but Vale and Atlas were allied, and smarter people than he had made the call, so it probably was. "Does that mean I'll maybe do missions with people from the ASF?"

"Possibly, though I wouldn't count on it. International missions such as that tend to deal with topics of import to both nations at once. They're very politically sensitive, and I don't expect we would send a rookie agent on one."

"Okay, I understand."

"Back onto the mask, there are a few other things to note. For one, there is a filtration system for airborne poison and smoke. The visor will also protect your eyes, but comes with in-built night vision and thermal functions. To activate them, you can simply speak which you want and say activate. Give it a try."

"Night vision; activate."

There was a near-silent click within the mask, before the visor went a green colour, and the room became brighter. With it already being illuminated, it almost blinded him, and he quickly switched it back off again.

"I see it works," Oobleck chuckled. "That's good. You can also take images with it by speaking for camera, you can record conversations or bits of video – and even transmit them remotely. Useful if you want someone at HQ to find out information for you, or if you have seen someone you don't recognise and need to know who they are. The mask will also refuse to come off unless you remove it, adhering to your aura until there is none left. If you run out of aura or die, you will unfortunately be revealed – but that you might not care about it at that point."

"I'll try not to let that happen," he said. Honestly, immediate thoughts of panic aside, the thing was cool. It was just a shame he wouldn't get a chance to wear it much since he'd be doing undercover work. "Should I take it off now? What do the other things do?"

"Oh, you'll get a chance to play with them soon enough. There's one other thing you need to know about the mask. If you are ever poisoned or affected by anything, the mask comes with several in-built antidotes. It can also spray you with cold air if you are overheating. Try that now. Ask it to spray cold."

Now? He wasn't exactly hot, but whatever. "Spray cold."

Something did indeed spray in his face, but it wasn't cold – nor was it water-based. Jaune coughed and hacked as the smoke filled his mouth and nostrils, and he tugged at the mask to try and pull it off.

It didn't move.

Panic shot through him. He coughed and tried to flare his aura, tried to tear it off – then tried to shout out to Oobleck, but he'd let go of the speaker button and his voice was muffled and lost. Had something gone wrong? Had there been a mistake? The world swirled and he gasped for breath, inhaling the smoke. It tasted bitter, and it felt like his entire mind had become duller.

His legs gave way and he fell. He would have struck the floor if not for someone catching him. As his vision darkened, the last thing he saw was Oobleck looking over him, and the man putting on his own black mask.

"I do apologise, my boy. This is a necessary step."

The world swam out of focus.

/-/

His had a headache. It was the first thing he realised when he woke up, and his hand came up instinctively to clutch his forehead. It met a smooth surface instead of his face, and that brought back what had just happened to his mind. "Oobleck," he gasped. "What happened? What was-?"

He paused.

He wasn't in the office anymore. For one thing, the office wasn't nearly so cold, nor exposed. It had a roof and walls for instance, whereas his current location was open to the dark sky, and surrounded by trees. Grass and dirt was underneath him, and it was only as he looked down that he realised he was dressed in the black and grey uniform of the VSS.

"What the hell? I only put on the mask. Where am I?"

 _"Agent Arc. You are awake?"_

The voice was unfamiliar, female, and came in directly to his mask. He gasped and looked around. "Who's that!? Where are you?"

 _"Agent Arc, I need you to calm down,"_ the woman said. _"I am in Vale, within the Operational Department of the VSS. I have been assigned to you here. My name is Magician."_

"Magician? That's not a real name."

 _"No. It is my code name."_

"Then you're an Agent?"

 _"I am. Can you see the world around you, Agent?"_

Could he-? Jaune's temper frayed, and he pushed himself to his feet with a snarl. "Can I see? What are you, stupid? Of course I can. I can see that I've been dumped in some kind of forest. What the hell's going on?"

He cut off as something howled in the distance.

His face went white. "W-Was that a Beowolf!?"

 _"Possibly. It may have been drawn to your anger or fear."_ The woman sounded far calmer than she had any right to, though it wasn't _her_ life in danger. _"I need you to calm down, Agent. You are currently in the Emerald Forest, which lays between Vale and Beacon. It is Grimm-infested, so it would be best if you did not allow your emotions to take control."_

Oh yeah, sure. That was easy. He heard a rustle from a bush nearby and spun around with wide eyes. An owl fluttered out of it, a mouse in its grasp. It took him a second to realise his body was shaking, and another few to calm down.

"Why am I here? What's going on?"

 _"This is your induction assignment, Agent Arc. It is a live-fire mission which will determine whether you have the qualities we require of an Agent of the VSS. I am to provide you with operational support, but nothing more."_

An assignment…? But Oobleck had said nothing about that. Then again, the bastard hadn't said anything about this either, and the mask had clearly dumped some kind of sleeping gas in his face. It had been a trap from the start. Little wonder he was so eager to make him wear the mask.

"Magician," he breathed. "What is the mission?"

 _"You are to reach a rendezvous point for extraction. I shall upload its destination to your visor."_

There was another howl in the distance, followed by a flight of birds that took off from the trees around him. He heard a third howl echo it. This was one was much closer.

 _"Also,_ " Magician said, _"Your task is to survive."_

* * *

 **ARGH! This illness. Headache, sweating, high temperature. It's a complete pain in the arse. Also, I'm aware that the site has a bunch of errors going on right now. I struggled to even upload NTF and this, and some people haven't been able to post or see PM's or such.**

 **Anyway, I need to go lay down and rest.**

 **Oh, and again, no one here is an OC. They are all people from the show in one way or another. Obviously, when he refers to his family - those are my OC's for them, but that's just to give them names, etc. My cast of Arc OC's still exist, but likely won't play a significant part in this fic. Also, this chapter was info heavy because it sort of had to be. From here on out, that kind of thing will likely be experienced less, as we're thrown into more action.**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 30** **th** **July**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's the next chapter of IKS. I've had some comment on it having what seems a low start. That's kind of necessary in a situation where something is changing to Jaune `before` the story. If this were a fic where Jaune started as a Secret Agent, then I'd have certainly gone with a "in medias res" approach, and thrown us all into the action.**

 **Sadly, that doesn't make much sense for Jaune Arc as we know him, and a lot of people would have been confused. As such, I have to show how Jaune's tenure as an Agent comes about, hence what these intro chapters are.**

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

* * *

Jaune slipped behind a tree and pushed his back up against it. The sounds of the forest were all around him, broken occasionally by the roar of Grimm in the distance. His breath came out in sharp pants, but no sound or mist came from behind his mask.

" _Agent Arc, you need to calm down."_

"That's easy for you to say. You're not out here being chased by Grimm!"

" _No, but I have been before. Grimm are attracted to negativity, and right now you must be giving off a lot. If you wish to avoid them, you must calm down."_

It was the fact her voice was so calm that annoyed him the most. Considering his life was on the line, he'd have appreciated a little more sympathy, but that clearly wasn't coming. Right. Fine, he needed to be calm. He took a deep breath and let it go. It didn't help much, but his body stopped shaking quite so much. He clutched the dagger Oobleck had given him, the same one they'd trained with. He'd found it sheathed at his waist.

"What do I have to do to get out of here?" he asked. "If I complete the mission, I can leave, right?"

" _That's right. I'm uploading the destination to your visor now."_

His vision flickered for a moment, or rather the glass before him did. It returned to normal a second later, but there was now a downwards facing arrow at the top of it. "Is that a marker for where I need to go? There's a number beside it."

" _That is a distance marker, and the arrow shows the direction,"_ Magician explained. _"The choice of how to reach it is yours, but I would suggest going in a straight line here. The area is filled with Grimm, and you should seek to end this as soon as possible."_

Yeah, she didn't need to tell him twice. Jaune peeked his head out from behind the three and inspected the dark forest before him. He'd never really seen a Grimm in real life, but he'd seen pictures and heard them described. He felt confident in saying he'd be able to recognise one. For now, the coast was clear. That didn't necessarily make it safe. _Well, it's not like I have a lot of options available to me. I don't know which direction will lead back to Vale, and the VSS would only send me back to Ansel if I chickened out now._

The choice was obvious. Jaune sighed and thumbed his mask. "Night vision."

The visor flashed green, as did most of his surroundings. Still, it let him see a little further, and he crept out from behind the tree, sliding to the next in the general direction of the arrow.

" _Beacon has its own initiation as well,"_ Magician said. _"A live fire test is necessary to see whether a person will rise to the occasion or fold under pressure. You should use this time to acclimatise yourself to the Emerald Forest."_

Acclimatise, huh? On a list of the things he wanted at that time, it didn't rate very high. No way. He was going to get to the finish point as soon as possible, and then make sure to give Oobleck a piece of his mind.

At least the uniform he was in kept the cold at bay. It must have been around midnight, with the fragmented moon high in the sky, and the wind picked up nearby leaves and rattled the branches. Despite that, he felt warm and snug, and had no problem jogging through the forest. What thorns and branches whipped back into him failed to penetrate his coat or trousers. There was something to be said for small mercies.

The counter was at a few hundred now, though there was no telling if that was feet, metres or something else. He could have asked the girl on the other end of the line, but he wasn't sure he wanted to. She was a party to him being here, and that hadn't exactly endeared her to him.

His thoughts were interrupted as he broke out from behind some bushes and pushed into a clearing. The reason for the trees giving way was clear, as a large, brown rock face rose up before him. The path was blocked by the almost vertical climb. It was less a mountain and more of a ridge he was at the bottom of, but the forest had been so thick he'd not seen it coming.

"Did you know about this, Magician?"

" _The ridge is on my maps, yes."_

"And you didn't think to let me know?"

" _You did not ask. If you wish it, I can upload a map to your visor."_

Jaune grit his teeth. "I wish it."

" _Very well. You can bring it up at will, but I would advise not taking too long. You'll struggle to see any enemies approaching if you're distracted."_

The map was overlaid before his eyes, and it took a second for him to get used to that, and then adapt to reading it. It felt too close, like he'd literally held a piece of paper up against his face. There probably wasn't much that could be done there, except remembering to bring actual maps in the future. After a few seconds, he was able to find his location – mostly because of the tiny dot Magician had included on it. There was another dot further up, marked alongside an X in what was probably his destination. It didn't look so far, but the ridge was definitely in the way. Going around it would be a large detour, but it did even out about a mile or so away.

"This detour is going to take a while," he said, dismissing the map.

" _You could go over it."_

Jaune looked up at the near-vertical rock face and blanched. "Yeah… I'm not exactly confident in my rock climbing. I think I'll take the long route."

" _You would not need to climb very far,"_ Magician said, making him pause as he walked away. _"Look at the vambraces around your wrists. Do you see the button on the top of them?"_

He hadn't even realised he was _wearing_ anything on his arms, let alone that they had buttons on. True to her words, there was what he'd assumed was armour on both his arms. It started at the wrists, and stopped just below his elbow. "I see them."

" _One of the benefits to the Atlas tech is rappelling and grappling equipment. If you aim your hand at the rock face and press the button, it will fire out a spike that will expand when it hits the target. You can then reel yourself in."_

"Like a hook shot?" Jaune asked, instantly thinking of the video games he'd played. Those things had always looked smaller, but he supposed games didn't have to account for the rope which was no doubt coiled within the strange things.

" _I… suppose that's not a bad analogy. Either way, you need to remember that this will put huge pressure on your arm muscles. You can only do this when your aura is strong, otherwise you'll tear your arm from your socket."_

And wasn't that a nice thing to imagine? Jaune nodded warily and aimed his right arm somewhere around the top of the ridge. He pressed the button with his left, and staggered slightly as a pressurised shot fired off. It was quieter than he'd expected, but still loud in the quiet of the Emerald Forest. There was a loud clunking noise, followed by a snap, as the metal hook buried into rock.

" _You can reel yourself in with the same button, but take it slow."_ Magician said. _"Don't try and accelerate from standing still to full speed or you'll hurt yourself. Take it more at the pace you would use to climb a rope normally."_

Jaune didn't bother to say he'd never climbed a rope in his life, and instead walked over to the cliff face. The metallic rope went slack, but he reeled some of it in with the press of a button, at least until it was taut. Cautiously, he placed one foot on the rock, and then reeled a little further.

The hook held. He placed his other foot on the rock, and reeled even more.

"It's working," he whispered, placing one foot before the other. With the rope attached to his arm, and his other helping to draw it in, he didn't so much climb as he did walk vertically up the rock. His arm ached from the strain, but his aura kept him safe and prevented it from injuring him.

" _When you get to the top of the rope, steady yourself and then use your other arm to fire higher. You can repeat the process until you are at the top. If you release the catch, the rope will sever from the hook. You have three reloading hooks in each gauntlet."_

It looked like they'd thought of everything. Jaune nodded and concentrated on slowly climbing higher, and also in refusing to look down for fear of what he'd see. Nightmares of the hook giving way washed through his mind, but it never did, and as he reached the point of impact, he started to calm down and get into the swing of it.

He hung onto a nearby rock, still suspended by the rope as well as he aimed with his left arm and fired the hook further up the cliff. It pierced and locked into the rock again, and he was able to detach the other like Magician had told him.

It was slow going, with two more shots in total, but eventually he managed to reach the top, where he slung a leg up over and dragged himself to safety. Just to be sure, he fired another shot into a tree a small distance away, using it to wind himself over the cliff and away from danger.

"Huh, that was easier than I expected."

" _These tools exist to give you any advantage you might need. The VSS spares no expense on making sure you can do your job quickly, easily, and with the least amount of risk."_

All wonderful things, but for the fact he was stuck out here in a forest at night. He didn't feel particularly safe.

Something rustled the bushes ahead of him.

The dagger came out, pointed towards it. Jaune's eyes tracked it, and then back behind him to the cliff's edge. Fighting there was a bad idea, even if there was the chance of baiting it into charging him and falling off. It was a good idea maybe, but if he failed to dodge in time, he'd be the one becoming a smeared paste on the ground. He stepped to the side, circling the bushes with a cautious air. Magician, for once, was silent. Perhaps she too detected the danger.

The moment stretched out for what felt like an eternity, made all the worse for how his muscles tensed and untensed, and his eyes flitted from left to right. He tried to remember the lessons from Oobleck, but all that came to his mind was how pitifully small the weapon in his hand was.

"I can do this," he whispered, aware that his voice couldn't be heard. "I was going to be a huntsman anyway, so this is nothing."

The brush rattled once more. Jaune's legs bent, keeping his body low. His breath caught in his throat.

A tiny rabbit hopped out from it.

The rush of relief was followed by an immediate and almost as powerful rush of embarrassment, made all the worse because he could just imagine Magician laughing at him. He sheathed the dagger on the second try, hands still shaking. It was the king of night to make a man jump at shadows, and his nerves hardly helped.

 _I'm such an idiot,_ he thought. _Dad wouldn't be jumping scared at the first sound of danger._

The rabbit took one look at him and sniffed the air, its tiny nose moving. Its ears pricked towards him and then back, and it bunched low to the ground. Suddenly, it rushed towards his feet, startling him before it pushed between them and away, running along the ridge line.

"What the hell was that?"

" _Prey animals do not run towards predators,"_ Magician said. _"Not unless they are running away from a larger predator."_

"What do you-?"

He didn't get any further, not before his mouth clicked shut in horror. The bushes that had rustled before were now parted by the huge shape of a creature formed entirely from black. It was wolf-like in appearance, but moved on two legs, and was easily seven or eight feet tall. Its red eyes flashed towards the speeding rabbit, but quickly settled on other prey. Prey that was giving off enough fear to whet its appetite.

" _Beowolf,"_ Magician said calmly. _"A medium-sized one, but not particularly dangerous."_

Jaune begged to differ. The long and powerful arms were tipped with razor sharp claws, and its giant maw dripped with saliva and puffed out clouds of mist. Even its size and weight alone would be enough to crush him, and there was no doubt it knew how to use its claws and teeth. He was frozen to the spot. He didn't dare move.

The Beowolf held no such fear. It leapt towards him with a bestial roar.

"Shit!" It was all he could say as the thing crashed into him, driving him down with incredible force. Fear and panic kicked in long before his limited training could, and he stuffed his left arm into the monster's face, hoping to keep it away from his throat. The Beowolf bit down and he gasped. There was no pain however, since the thing had bit into the vambrace on his left arm. The armour of the VSS was protecting him so far, but there was no telling how long it would last.

He struggled and tried to reach for the dagger, only to find his hips crushed under the Beowolf's weight. The beast shook its head and tried to tear his arm off. Jaune winced past his tears and shoved his ring hand into its shoulder, trying to push the thing off him so he could get his weapon. It wouldn't budge. It was too heavy!

Was this how it ended? Death by the first Grimm to cross his path? That seemed too ridiculous, too pathetic – even for him. Frustrated tears stung at his eyes. He wasn't going to die here. Not until he'd at least had the chance to punch Oobleck in the face!

The Grimm bit down hard. Something cracked and splintered, but it was the hook shot and not his bone. The black metal was wrenched off his arm, exposing him at last. The Beowolf considered the wreckage in its maw for a moment, perhaps unsure of what it was.

Wait, that was it! Jaune's now free arm slammed into the right, hands pressing down on all the buttons. There was a pressurised hiss as his right arm launched a metal spike directly into the creature's shoulder. Flesh and bone gave way with a sickening crunch, and from the shower of blood he saw, it seemed obvious the shot had gone right through it. There was even the metallic clink as it expanded and flew back, latching onto the monster, which roared out in agony.

Jaune disconnected it and fired another, lower this time. It had the same effect, and pushed the Grimm off him at the same time. It staggered and fell, but was back on its feet within moments, hissing in pained fury.

His knife hissed as he drew it free as well. His breath came out in harsh pants, body bent at the knees and teeth bared – not that it could be seen behind his mask. _I can do this,_ he told himself. _I have to do this._

The two circled one another for a moment, each looking for an opening, though Jaune wasn't sure what one might have entailed. The Grimm moved first, lunging across the grass and rearing up on its hind legs. A claw raked down, but Jaune dodged back, stumbling slightly but catching himself on a tree. It was sheared in two a moment later, his body ducking beneath the claw.

He had to get close. That was what Oobleck said. His little knife wouldn't be any use this far out, and the Grimm's natural weapons would be limited, too. If he could get within its grip, it would only be able to hit him with its elbows. It was the only chance he had.

The how to get there was easy – if not unpleasant.

When the Beowolf came in for the next attack, Jaune didn't dodge. He clenched his teeth and raised his left arm, crying out in pain when the claws struck it. His aura flared, but his body remained strong. He darted in and under its chin, driving the knife into its chest with a sickly squelch.

The Beowolf stumbled backwards.

Jaune followed.

He didn't let up, and didn't let it recover. His hand rose and fell without grace or precision, and the noise was more akin to a psycho butchering a helpless victim than anything else. He stabbed and stabbed because it was the only thing he could think to do, and soon the front of his uniform was covered in blood. Even then, he didn't stop.

He didn't stop until he'd borne it to the ground and stabbed it between its eyes. Not until it stopped moving entirely, and parts of its body began to disappear. He panted as he watched it, knelt atop its form, and revelling in his victory.

It felt disgusting. There was none of the pride or glory he'd dreamed of, nor much a sense of accomplishment. It was a messy and brutal killing and nothing more. _Perfect for someone who has no training to rely on. No wonder Oobleck wanted me to have something like this._

Adrenaline still pumped through him as the Grimm vanished, but his arms and legs had stopped shaking at least. He staggered up and wiped the back of one arm across his mask. All it did was smear blood on it, and didn't even help remove the sweat from his face. Chuckling to himself, he sighed and whispered the words that had doomed him in the first place.

"Spray."

This time, there was no sleep-inducing drug. Moisture, cool and soft, was sprayed across his face. He breathed a sigh of relief at it.

" _Your first kill,"_ Magician said. _"Well done."_

"Please don't ruin the mood."

" _You do not like me very much, do you?"_

Jaune hesitated, unsure of what to say. Talking with girls wasn't a strong point of his, which was saying something when you had seven sisters. Normally, he'd have clammed up and made a fool of himself, but now with adrenaline rushing through him and the bloody scent of… well, blood, invading his nostrils. He was more worried he'd say something nasty. "Ignore me," he sighed. "I'm in a bad mood, I guess. Sorry if I've been taking it out on you."

" _It's understandable. I was in your shoes once, and no less pleased for it."_

"They sent you into the Emerald Forest as well?"

" _Not quite."_ There was a nostalgic tone to her voice, and he could imagine her leaning back with a smile. _"I woke up in the middle of a White Fang compound, or in the attic of one. Naturally, they did not know I was there, but my task was to spy on a meeting between them. It was a daunting prospect."_

He could imagine. So, the whole drug and drop thing was a typical initiation for the VSS. He wasn't sure if that made him feel better or not. "How did it go?"

" _I did my mission without too much difficulty."_ Ouch. Way to make him feel worse. Magician must have noticed, for her voice softened. _"To be fair, I'd had a full year of training before that point. You have had less than a day, but I believe that inexperience was factored in here. So close to civilisation, you're unlikely to find many Grimm larger than the one you just faced. This is… a little easier than what most initiate agents face."_

Well, at least they weren't sending him on a suicidal assignment, then.

" _Your initiation mission is also tailored to your expected duties."_

"What do you mean?"

" _You are expected to infiltrate Beacon and pose as a huntsman, hence your initiation here is to travel through the Emerald Forest, where it was known you would run into a Grimm. My mission was to spy on the White Fang, which was the reason I was taken on in the first place."_

That made sense. Maybe it was better he freaked out now with Magician to help him, than in the initiation for Beacon. Come to think of it, if he failed initiation, he'd not be let into Beacon at all, and the VSS' time would be wasted. Well, he wouldn't let that happen.

"You seem to know a lot about me and why I was recruited."

" _Director Oobleck saw fit to fill me in. I will be a part of your team for any field assignments, so it's important I know your strengths and weaknesses."_

And there were more of the latter than the former. He was thankful she didn't feel the need to point that out. "Doesn't that mean you should introduce yourself?"

" _I already have."_ She paused. " _Or did you mean my true identity? I'm afraid that is prohibited at this time. Once the Director believes you experienced enough to know, I'm sure you will. For now, continue to call me Magician."_

"Anyone else I should know about?"

" _Our team leader, perhaps. His code name is Vanguard. I'm sure you'll meet him soon enough. For now, you should continue to your destination."_

Jaune nodded and checked his visor, pleased to see he was close. He sheathed his dagger, but kept a hand on it as he snuck through the trees. He was out of hooks now, but it didn't look like there were any more cliffs between him and the destination. According to the map, it was just a short trek through the woods until he'd be on top of a rocky hill. It didn't look like there was actually anything there, but it was definitely the rendezvous spot.

Luckily, there weren't any more Grimm in the way, or if there was, he had the devil's luck in sneaking past them. It took ten minutes or so, mostly because of his slow pace, but eventually he noticed the incline leading upwards. A smile split his face as he jogged the final distance, cresting the hill so that he was stood between several tall, overhanging rocks. His breath caught in his throat.

It was Beacon.

The hill he stood upon was the tallest for a long way, and had a perfect view on the Academy itself. He'd seen pictures, but those didn't do it justice, and even in the dark, it was beautiful. The tall tower that jutted from the middle drew the eye, least of all for the green lights within. _It's like a lighthouse. I guess I see why it's called Beacon now. If you were lost in the Emerald Forest, you could climb a tree and use it to guide your path._

The main buildings themselves were no less impressive, with long and winding archways and grey buildings topped darker rooftops. Spires and towers dotted out from it, giving the school a fairy tale feel.

"Was this what they wanted me to see?" he asked.

Magician didn't answer.

He was about to repeat the question, when a strange noise caught his attention, driving him back into the shadows of one of the rocks. It wasn't a natural sound, at least in the sense of an animal making it. It sounded like a dull whirr slowly growing louder. Looking back the way he'd come, his eyes widened as he saw a dark shape approaching the school, skimming over the forest's canopy. It was so low that it would cross over his hill with only twenty or metres so to spare.

 _Is that a Bullhead? Maybe it's for me. I reached the extraction point, so I guess they're sending someone to pick me up._

Jaune stood out from the rock, raising one arm in the air.

Something tackled him to the ground.

He cried out and kicked with both feet to try and get the creature off him. It grunted and took it with ease, spinning him over so that his back was on the grass. Jaune froze as he looked up into a black face – but not the one of a Grimm. It was a glossy black surface with a strange white mark on its mask, a triangle shape below the eye.

"Stay still," the figure hissed - the voice transmitted directly into his mask. "Make no noise."

Jaune winced as the vehicle flew by overhead. The wind from it rustled the trees nearby, and also caused his clothing to flap. The figure atop him didn't move throughout it, and the two of them remained unnaturally still. Only once it was gone did he climb off Jaune, moving over to kneel by one of the rocks. Jaune remained flat on his back, unsure if he should move, and if so, where. What was going on? Why were there other members of the VSS out here?

The figure tapped his mask, and Jaune heard a masculine voice in his ear. "Director, we're in position."

"Very good," a familiar voice echoed. "So good to see you could make it as well, Jaune."

"Oobleck?"

"Now, now, there's no need for that." There was a rustle of cloth behind him, and a second figure appeared from the outcrop. "Stay low, Jaune. We don't need to be seen here." He pointed to Beacon, and the Bullhead which had passed them. "I'll answer your questions later. For now, watch the show."

Jaune grit his teeth, but did as asked. As Oobleck went to kneel beside the other man, he did the same, leaning against a rock for purchase. The two of them seemed calm and assured, so he relaxed as well, using the visors magnify ability to zoom in a little further. The Bullhead slowed down as it approached Beacon, its engines moving so that it could hover in the air, and then slowly descend. With the lights from the academy illuminating it, the hull's shiny white gloss was visible, along with the symbol of a staff overlaid across a cogwheel.

"Atlas," Oobleck explained, perhaps understanding the unasked question. "Atlas military to be more precise."

Jaune's brow creased. "Why would the they be at Beacon?"

"Isn't that the million lien question," the unknown figure grunted. "Magician, was any diplomatic or military access requested by Atlas recently?"

" _There has been none, Vanguard._ " Magician responded. So, _this_ was Vanguard? _"I cross-referenced military, Council, and requests made by Beacon. This is an unrecorded meeting."_

"Tch. As expected."

Jaune looked at Vanguard with confusion. The words and terms used went straight over his head, but he could understand the idea in its vaguest sense. You didn't want military aircraft flying so close to your capitol city, and if no one knew, then this was some kind of illegal entry. Not a declaration of war, or he expected Oobleck would look a lot more ruffled. Still, it was out of the ordinary… which explained why _they_ were here to watch it.

The ramp of the aircraft came down once it had landed, and there were two figures awaiting it – one with a green suit and grey hair, the other a blonde woman with glasses.

"Headmaster Ozpin, and Deputy Goodwitch," Oobleck explained. "They run Beacon."

The hatch on the Bullhead opened. Several armed figures strode out, guns at the ready, but the two teachers seemed unconcerned. Once the soldiers had the immediate area secure, a tall and imposing figure stepped out. Jaune's eyes narrowed instantly.

" _General James Ironwood, headmaster of Atlas academy, and in command of the military. He is, without a doubt, the most powerful man in Atlas – holding two Council seats, and considerable influence."_ Magician's words were almost certainly meant for his benefit, and Jaune nodded to show he understood.

"But what would the General of another country be doing in Vale?"

"Not in Vale, kid," Vanguard said. "In Beacon. There's a marked difference."

"In terms of location, yes, but not legality," Oobleck added. "My dear, you are certain that this is an unsanctioned visit?"

" _Absolutely, Director."_

"I trust you. Well then, how interesting. Vanguard, record everything you see, and focus on their interactions. I doubt it will lead to much, but we'll have someone analyse their lip patterns to try and decipher what they are saying."

Vanguard nodded and whispered something under his breath, leaving Jaune and Oobleck to watch the rest of the meeting. Whatever Ironwood was saying to the other two, it was far too great a distance for them to have a hope of hearing. Even so, the way they interacted told some things. Ironwood stepped forward to embrace Goodwitch, while he shook hands firmly, but happily, with Ozpin. This was definitely not a reluctant affair on either side, and the way they laughed and smiled made that clear.

What was perhaps more interesting, was that another section of the Bullhead was being lowered to the ground, some kind of underhanging cargo bay. Four soldiers stood at either corner of a large, wooden container.

"What's that?" he asked.

"The question haunts me as well, Mr Arc," Oobleck replied. "I very much doubt there will be any record given the clandestine nature of this meeting, but I certainly want to know what lays inside. Magician?"

" _Nothing, sir. Sorry."_

"No matter. We've achieved what we came for, wouldn't you say, Jaune?"

The words filtered into his head, but barely breached the surface. He'd never considered himself a curious guy, at least in terms of needing to know stuff. Here, though, something had changed. Ozpin was meeting with Ironwood, the General of another Kingdom, and in a shady meeting late at night a few days before the next year of Beacon was set to begin. There was so much wrong with that, it wasn't even funny.

He wanted to know why. No, he _needed_ to know. Both what they intended, and what was within that box the soldiers were so carefully escorting within the school. The mystery ate away at him.

"This is what you wanted me to see," he whispered. "The reason for all of this wasn't to test me, it was to show me what's going on – to make me understand."

Vanguard hummed. "Not bad."

"I told you he had a quick mind when put to it," Oobleck said. "It takes a certain kind of person to know their weakness and seek to bypass it, even if that means using forged transcripts. You're right, Jaune. This is what we wanted you to see. We needed you to understand that is happening here; that this is not a game." Oobleck breathed out softly. "Something is happening here, my boy. Something big."

"And it's our job to figure out what it is." Jaune said.

"And put a stop to it if necessary," Vanguard finished. "Oobleck, you're right. I think he's ready."

" _Myself as well. Rough around the edges, but quick on the uptake. He has my vote."_

"I could not agree more," Oobleck said. "You handled that Beowolf well, too."

Jaune's eyes widened. "You saw that!?"

"We were with you the entire way, my boy." The older man threw his head back and laughed. "Didn't I tell you before that you are an investment? We would not leave you alone to be killed. It looked close for a moment, but you were able to find a solution to your Grimm problem." The mask bowed a little. "Don't worry about your little panic attack. Everyone freezes up the first time. You won't again. What did you think, Van?"

"It was rough," Vanguard said. "You need training."

" _But if he can accomplish this much with just a day…"_

"Hm, I know." Vanguard crossed his arms and looked Jaune up and down. "Don't let this be a mistake on our part. Do not let us down."

"I won't," Jaune said, and for the first time, really meant it. Before, it had always been a promise – but one born of naivety and stubborn determination. Now, it felt more solid. Tempered, even. He looked back to the Atlas Bullhead, but everyone had now moved inside the academy, and there was nothing to be seen.

"Come on," Oobleck said. "Let us return home. We got what we came for."

/-/

How they made it back without arousing suspicion, Jaune had no idea. None of them had removed their masks, but they'd stuck to rooftops and alleyways, and honestly, he'd just followed after Oobleck and Vanguard. They seemed to know what they were doing. He also finally realised where he'd heard Vanguard's voice before as well. He was the guy who had kidnapped him the first time. There didn't seem to be an apology coming on that front, and he wasn't confident enough to ask for one.

When they were safely back within the VSS building, Ooblck took off his mask – a sign for Jaune to do the same. Vanguard kept his on, out of a desire to protect his identity.

"You see our concern for Beacon now," Oobleck said, sitting behind his desk. "There are many things which have us wary of late; the increased White Fang presence, the spate of dust robberies – and even Torchwick's unusual movements. Combined together with Ozpin courting the interest of General Ironwood, all under the Council's nose, and you can see why we would pay attention."

"Yeah, I can." Even with his limited knowledge, it looked bad. There was probably even more he didn't understand. "How do dust robberies factor in? Don't they happen all the time?"

"Most stolen dust is sold elsewhere," Oobleck explained. "Even if we cannot reclaim it, we can see when it enters the market, or at least track the supply and demand to see if it leaves the country. This dust is not reappearing, here or elsewhere. This is causing an economic shortage, but that isn't our main concern."

"Why, and who for," Vanguard said. His mask turned to Jaune. "If they're not after it for money, then they're after it for usage – and that's a problem when the amount of it keeps getting higher. The more that's stolen, the bigger the fallout when it's used. And then there's the Vytal Festival."

Oobleck grimaced. "Yes, and quite the storm that will be. International events are always difficult," he added for Jaune's benefit. "If something goes wrong or happens, Vale will be held responsible, and so the security of the event is very important. Naturally, there is overt security, and then there is us."

"And we'll be expected to find out if anything is happening," Jaune finished. "We'll probably be blamed if something does, too."

"Not publically, but in private, yes. The Council expects us to be prepared for this, and prepared we shall be. If anyone ever wished to harm Vale, there could not be a better moment." He sighed. "Our workload is set to get far worse in the coming months, and Ozpin could not have chosen a worse time to start meddling."

"Or a better time," Vanguard said. "We'll be distracted, after all."

"Of course. That goes without saying." He leaned forward on the table and looked at the two of them. "Gentleman, and Magician, since I know you're listening. We are faced with quite a number of problems here. I won't lie; there are trying times ahead."

Jaune shuffled nervously, but took some small solace from how Vanguard didn't budge.

"Isn't there always?" the burly man asked. "It's business as usual."

Oobleck chuckled and leaned back in his chair. "Jaune, your mission hasn't changed, but perhaps now you appreciate the target we want you to investigate. You might also have a better grasp of its difficulty now."

"Ozpin," Jaune said, feeling a little sick. He'd thought it would be another student, not someone so powerful. Then again, why would they have felt the need to recruit someone like him if it was just a normal person they needed to watch? "You want me to spy on Ozpin, which is why him accepting me into Beacon was such a big deal."

"Exactly. He knew your transcripts were fake, but wanted you enough to take the risk. If he has plans for you, then we want to know about them."

"But what should I do? How can I spy on someone like him?"

"By being whatever he wants you to be," Vanguard said. "By toadying up to him, and doing what he says – by being an idealistic and easily manipulated little kid, eager for praise and recognition."

"By being myself, you mean," Jaune sighed, "Or how I used to be."

It sounded easy, but it wouldn't be. That much he could tell. If Ozpin was clever enough to slip by the Council, and presumably the VSS up to this point, then he was no amateur. Even thinking it sounded stupid, since the guy had to be twice his age – and had probably been making important decisions since before Jaune was even born.

"This seems crazy," he said, shaking his head. "Look, I know what I need to do – and why. I just don't see how. I can't approach him, and if he doesn't choose to tell me, then I'll never know. How do I get any kind of lead on him?"

"You can start by following where he's been," a feminine voice spoke. The woman who walked through the door was tall, but shorter than both Jaune and Vanguard. She wore a black mask, too, but also had a hood up over her hair.

He recognised the voice. "Magician?"

"In the flesh," she said, sketching a small bow. She turned back to Oobleck and stepped forward, placing a folder down on his desk. "Ozpin has been busy tonight, it seems. I decided to check on the applicants for the next year, and there was an unusual note on one person's file."

"What is it?" Vanguard asked.

Oobleck didn't answer for the longest moment. He flicked through the pages, humming occasionally, and stroking his chin. As the minutes ticked by, his expression became darker. It was hard to wait, and even harder to be patient, but neither Magician nor Vanguard moved a muscle, so he stayed as still as he could. Eventually, Oobleck finished and put the folder down.

"Good work, Magician. This is valuable intel. You were right to bring it to my attention." He accepted the woman's nod, and then turned to the two men in the room. "Ozpin has made something of a… last minute addition to the roster. By last minute, I truly mean it, as the paperwork was filed this very night, right under our noses."

"Is that so unusual?" Jaune asked. "I mean, he _is_ the headmaster. It's kind of his job."

"It would not normally be strange, no, but the circumstances here are alarming. The applicant, for one, is but fifteen years old."

"Prodigy?" Vanguard asked.

"Somewhat, but not enough to have been considered for advancement. She's skilled, but her academics will lack two years of preparation. Two important years. More than that, her family is of concern. She is related to Qrow Branwen."

Vanguard growled something immediately, and even Magician crossed her arms in clear annoyance. She saw his confusion and explained. "Qrow Branwen is a huntsman under Ozpin's direct control. He's completely loyal to the headmaster, at least as far as we can tell, and he is exceedingly dangerous."

"Cunning, too," Vanguard growled. "He comes from nowhere, has no records, and goes without warning. It's all but impossible to track or trace him. Trust me, we've tried." He looked to Oobleck. "You think this is a favour for Branwen? It might just be nepotism of a sort. Crooked, but no big deal."

"It might be, if Qrow Branwen knew about this or had a hand in it. It seems the dear girl met with Torchwick and held her own, albeit barely. Somehow, this was considered enough for her to be bumped up into Beacon."

Vanguard snorted. "Bullshit. People run into criminals all the time and they don't get rewarded. I'll bet he didn't even fight her seriously, or she'd be dead."

"Precisely. The records suggest all she did was pursue him, and in fact had to be rescued by Miss Goodwitch. That this would then lead to her recruitment is… interesting indeed. He wants her in Beacon – and enough so that he would risk the allegiance of his greatest tool to have her." Oobleck stood and took the file in hand. He flicked it over to Jaune, who caught it clumsily. "You asked how you would discover Ozpin's motives, and here is the first step," he said. "Find this girl. Speak with her, understand her, befriend her. Find out what Ozpin wants with her, and that may be half the battle complete."

Warily, he opened the folder, revealing a girl who looked incredibly short, with pale skin and silver eyes. Cute was the only way to describe her, and even if she may have been beautiful in time, now, she seemed childlike, almost fey. Fifteen… it really was too young for this kind of thing. She'd be out killing monsters before she could legally drink.

"Ruby Rose," he whispered, tasting the name. "She's to be my first target?"

"Indeed, she is, Agent Arc. No… you have passed your initiation, and have been accepted into the ranks of the VSS." Oobleck tapped his arm and smiled. "I think it's time you received your designation."

Jaune's head perked up. He looked to the others, but they gave nothing away. He stood awkwardly. Was something expected of him?

"Henceforth, you shall be known within the VSS by your new designation, your new code name. Welcome to the family, and may you always be a part of it, Rat."

Jaune paused. "E-Excuse me?"

"Rat," Oobleck repeated. "That is your designation."

Vanguard snickered, "Congratulations, Rat."

Jaune's eye twitched.

* * *

 **So, I suppose that ends the suspicions of some that Ozpin is either involved, or a part of the VSS – and that Glynda is Magician. This fic was sort of made possible by the almost endless amount of suspicious stuff Ozpin pulls, and just about everyone's inability (in the show, I mean) to notice it. I mean, wow, he gets away with a lot.**

 **The code name will make sense, by the way. It's not just a dick move or some such.**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 6** **th** **August**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	4. Chapter 4

**Here is chapter four. Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

* * *

The Bullhead had yet to take off, and in fact was still awaiting most of its passengers. Jaune sat alone in one corner, a scroll held to his ear and a frustrated look on his face. He sighed for what felt like the tenth time.

"It's just… Rat? That's so demeaning."

" _I would disagree."_ Oobleck said. _"The rat is a noble and impressive creature capable of adapting and surviving in the most adverse of situations. There is a lot we can learn from them, and you would do well to aspire towards the moniker."_

"But rats are untrustworthy. It feels like you're basically saying I'll rat people out."

Which was true, he supposed – but that only made things worse. If he ratted anyone out, then it would only be because they were dangerous to innocent people.

" _That is a slang term, and one not really related to the animal. I'd also point out that rats are social creatures that can be very loyal to their packmates, friends and family. In fact, they're one of the few animals to show evidence of altruism, rescuing rats they don't even know from harm and sharing food with them for selfless reasons. You'll struggle to find many humans willing to do the same."_

"And the fact they bring disease and misfortune?"

" _Is the work of pathogens… and the fleas that carry them."_ Oobleck sighed, and Jaune could just imagine the man rolling his eyes. _"Jaune, many of the things you're complaining about are because you're looking at the name without digging deeper. Consider it a lesson if you will, the VSS is not an organisation which can afford to take people at face value. We must look beneath the surface and find the truth behind the lies. You should do the same here, and let your designation be a reminder. What would you have preferred to be called?"_

"I don't know… wolf?"

" _A scavenger and pack animal that bows to pressure from others in its group and urinates on any available tree to mark its territory. It's also easily frightened by larger predators, which, I might remind you, you are surrounded by."_

"Uh, snake?"

" _Opportunistic predator that suns itself most of the day, then sneaks into nests to eat the young of other animals. They're also highly temperamental and don't survive well outside of their natural habitats. If you want to rely on slang for negativity, then they are also cold-blooded."_

Okay, it looked like Oobleck wasn't in the mood, and to be honest this was killing his enthusiasm too. Why couldn't he have just been given a cool nickname like Magician and Vanguard? Jaune palmed his face and let out a little groan.

"Fine, I'll look deeper into it. Is there any way to change my name later, though?"

" _Complete this mission and I'll entertain the idea, but you'll need to provide good reason for why and what. I won't accept `being cool` as a reason. This is an issue of national security. Whatever you are called should have no weight when that is considered."_

He nodded. "Understood, sir."

" _Are you in position?"_

"Yes, I'm on the Bullhead twenty-five minutes early."

" _Your reason?"_

"I'm just a little worried I might miss it," Jaune complained loudly. If anyone was listening in, he didn't want to sound too suspicious. "You know how I am. I'm anxious to make a good impression, and I could barely sleep this morning for excitement."

" _Good excuse,"_ Oobleck praised. _"Play on those innocent thoughts, and don't be afraid to let others see you as nervous or unsure about your position. No matter the bravado they show, every student there will be nervous. Have you seen the target yet?"_

"Not yet," he said, scanning the Bullhead. It was still early, and while there were a few people milling around, most were still outside and didn't want to enter on their own. Some were still with family, who chatted and patted their heads while they said their farewells. That was the true reason he'd come early, of course. He wanted a chance to corner Ruby Rose before Beacon began, and he lost her in the crowds.

Here on the Bullhead, they'd be stuck together for the ten to twenty minutes the flight took.

" _I'll have to leave you now, Rat. I have my own work to attend to. Remember that if you are in need of advice or support, you can contact HQ through your Lapscroll. Stay calm, keep in mind your training, and be prepared to fail. This is a mission that could last for years. Do not be disheartened if you experience some failure early on. There will be opportunities to remedy it. Good luck, Agent."_

The scroll clicked off, and Jaune stashed it away with a small sigh. It was strange, but Oobleck was surprisingly easy to deal with. Maybe that was something he did on purpose, acting just relaxed and friendly enough to keep you loyal, or maybe he simply thought it the best way to deal with a seventeen-year-old new agent with no field experience. Either way, the parting comment on failure did let Jaune relax a little.

 _Heh, to think the Director of the VSS would be easier on failure than my teachers. They always acted like failed exams meant my life was over._

Then again, if he consistently failed here, it might not be just his life which ended. There were a lot of innocent people riding on the outcome.

"Trust me to kill the mood again," he chuckled. Ah pressure, that ever-present companion. How he'd missed it. His feet tapped nervously on the metal floor, and he watched new people as they entered the aircraft. None of them were the person he was looking for, and despite Oobleck's words, most of them didn't look as nervous as he felt.

 _Okay, I need a plan. When Ruby comes on, I need to befriend her, but what should I do?_

His friends back in Ansel, what few there were, had come from him being assigned to them in some way or another. One of his earliest had become his best friend just because they'd been made to sit next to one another in primary school, while others had become friends because existing friends met them, or they ended up working together on group projects or sports teams. Oh, there were some he'd made some friends with through his own interactions, but he couldn't remember specifically how that came about. He'd either forgotten the specifics, or they hadn't been important enough to be memories he kept hold of. He just… sort of _had_ friends.

 _I should have asked Oobleck for more advice… or maybe Magician or Vanguard since they're younger._ They would surely have dealt with the same, but he'd been so distracted and aghast at his new code name that he hadn't thought to do either. Now, he was on his own. Not good. _I guess I'll just have to go up and talk with her. Nothing's going to happen if I don't at least try. All I need is a little bit of confidence. I can do this._

"Hey there!"

The voice came directly into his left ear, and he jumped in his seat, heart lurching into his throat. A pair of hands kept him down, along with a giggle as his body shook.

"Whoa, someone's jumpy. Did I scare you?"

Scare him? No way. Not a chance. Jaune laughed nervously and turned to see who'd snuck up on him like that. The first things he saw was pale skin and red hair, and for a second he dared to wonder if Ruby Rose had found him out. But no, the hair was lighter by far – and more orange than red. The girl was also taller and uh… larger in certain areas. The smile, he definitely meant the smile. It wasn't Ruby. He had no idea who it was, or why they'd talked to him. "H-Hey there," he echoed, then immediately felt stupid. "Sorry about that. I was, uh… thinking on something."

"Oh, I could tell," the girl chatted. "You had that faraway look on your face, but I thought, wow, that guy looks lonely. Someone should talk to him, and then I thought – hey, I'm someone! And here I am, talking to you." Her words blitzed out and she smiled, apparently satisfied with her assault. "Oh, and I'm Nora by the way."

"Ha-?" He'd only caught about half of what she said. He blamed the way she said it, which made every word sound so exciting he struggled to place it. "Uh, Arc. Jaune Arc."

It didn't sound as good as when the spies in the movies said it.

"Nora, I think you're a little too close. Give him some space."

"Oh, and this is my best friend!" Nora cried. She grabbed the other guy around the neck, dragging him forwards so that he was almost nose-to-nose with Jaune. He stared blankly into pink eyes, which looked back with a beleaguered, almost defeated air. "This is Lie Ren, but everyone just calls him Ren."

"Why?"

Of all the things he could, or should, have picked up on, he had no idea why he chose that one.

"Huh?"

"Why does everyone call him by his last name?"

Nora hummed and pulled back, looking at Ren as one might a doll you had in your hands. She tilted her head, bit her lip, then actually tilted _Ren_. "You know, I actually don't know. Why _do_ people call you Ren, Renny?"

Ren, Lie, or Renny – whatever it was – sighed. "How should I know? You're the one who decides what you want to call me."

"Then why do _I_ call you Ren?"

"I've made it a habit not to question how your mind works."

"Because you trust me so much!? Oh, Renny!" She gasped and crushed her friend into a tight hug. One that just so happened to press the boy's face into her not-inconsiderable cleavage. Ren actually managed to look disinterested, and maybe even exasperated with that.

Jaune had no idea how. Wasn't that supposed to be the promised land?

"I'm sorry about Nora," Ren said, once he was eventually freed from his delightful prison, and allowed to sit down on one of the benches. He took the seat opposite Jaune, while Nora was sat to his left, and seemed eager to look at everyone else nearby. "She's very excitable, as you've probably noticed. She also… doesn't often respect people's personal space. I'm sorry if we bothered you."

"Nah, I'm okay. I was just nervous."

"About what?" Nora asked.

"Beacon, I guess." It wasn't just an excuse this time. "I mean, it's a completely new place, and there's initiation. If we fail that, we're out. Aren't you nervous?"

"I wasn't aware there was an initiation," Ren said.

Oh crap, was that not common knowledge? Come to think of it, it obviously wasn't since the acceptance letter made no mention, and he hadn't known about it either until Oobleck told him. "I knew someone who went to Beacon before," he lied. "She told me about it. Apparently, there's a test to see if we stay or not."

Nora's face fell. "A-A written test?"

The right thing to do would have been to say he didn't know, but she looked so horrified that he couldn't bring himself to. "It's something to do with us fighting Grimm," he said. "I don't know any more though."

"A practical exam…" Ren's eyes narrowed. "That makes sense, I suppose. Thank you for telling us." He glanced to Nora. "We should be fine in it. I'm confident enough in our skills. Is that what has you so nervous?"

Curiously enough, no. He'd already done an initiation in the Emerald Forest now, and although that didn't exactly make him a master in the area, it did take away a little of his fear. His anxiety came from something far more mundane. "No. I think I'm just nervous about meeting new people. I've got no idea if I'll get along with them."

"Ah…" Ren smiled in understanding. "Not exactly an unusual sentiment. Nora is much the same."

"What!?" Nora gasped in horror, or perhaps betrayal. "No, I'm not!"

"Of course not, Nora. My mistake."

She puffed out her cheeks and poked his arm, while Jaune laughed at the display. It must be nice to have a close friend like that, especially one that was entering Beacon with you. He kind of wished he could have known who Magician and Vanguard really were, just so he could hang out with them if things went badly. Then again, there was no saying what years they would be in, and maybe they thought it would look suspicious if he did. His records, what little there were, said he came from outside of Vale. It might look odd if someone who shouldn't have met someone before now claimed they were his best friend.

Ugh… talk about complicated.

A light beep echoed around them.

"Please be seated as the bullhead will soon take off."

Wait, what!? He looked around and cursed. The bullhead was filled with people, and most of the seats were taken. If Ruby Rose was still attending Beacon, she was definitely here, but he'd been so distracted that he'd missed not only her, but also his chance to catch her while she was on her own.

It didn't help that as the vehicle lurched into the air, his stomach flipped.

"You don't look so good," Nora said.

Ren agreed. "Are you okay, Jaune? You look ill."

He'd have liked to answer, but the words weren't there. Luckily, he didn't have to speak to explain what was wrong with him, or how the motions affected him. After all, actions spoke louder than words.

It was just a shame his actions also led to screams and disgust.

/-/

"Ugh, well that was a fail," Jaune mumbled, wiping the last vestiges of breakfast from his lips. Bent double over a toilet, and currently worshipping the bowl, he pulled the chain and leaned back as the acrid scent was driven away. Judging from the motion, or lack thereof, it looked like they'd managed to land at Beacon in one piece.

Of course, being trapped in the bathroom once Ren escorted him there, he hadn't seen hide nor hair of his target. Not like she'd have been in the men's bathroom anyway. Ren had left too, seeing that there was little he could do to help, or maybe just wanting to escape the horrid smell.

Jaune didn't blame him. Not when he'd almost thrown up on the guy's legs. Patience only went so far, friendliness too.

"I'll have to find them and apologise later."

Stumbling over to the sink and washing his face, Jaune pushed out of the bathroom and towards the scent of fresh air. The ramp at the back was down, and people milled about in the landing zone below, some on their own, but more in groups. Someone pushed past him, a vaguely disgusted look on their face. The man had light brown hair bordering on orange and wore silvery armour. He held his nose with one hand, then pushed by and walked over to three other guys, who welcomed him with laughter.

Oops. It looked like he hadn't been alone in the toilets. Well, that was another friend he probably wasn't making anytime soon.

 _A lot of people are like him in that they have their own friendship circles here. I bet they all knew they'd be coming to Beacon together. I need to find Ruby before she makes her own._

Fortunately, being on top of the ramp gave him a good angle from which to look out over everyone, and since the pilots had already climbed out of the ship, it didn't look like he'd be forced off anytime soon. There were a hundred or so students in total, maybe a little less. Some stood in groups, others alone, but none dared range beyond the trees that lined the path. He spotted one on the edge, apart from her fellows not because of nerves, but apparently because she was fussing over several suitcases she had on a trolley. The white hair definitely felt familiar, but it wasn't what he was looking for, even if she did look rather pretty.

Other colours came to him, bright red, orange, black and more beyond. He tugged out his scroll and flicked to a picture he had of the girl. She was short with pale skin and silver eyes, while her hair was more of a dark brown tinged with red. It didn't stand out however, and with how short she was, she could be anywhere in the crowd and he'd easily miss her.

 _I guess Oobleck wasn't kidding when he said be prepared to fail. Some spy I am if I can't find someone who isn't even trying to hide._

He'd just have to hope that when everyone started to move, he'd be able to catch her out.

/-/

For Ruby, the day had started out pretty good. She was going to Beacon a whole two years early, and better still, she had Yang with her. That meant not having to be alone, and not being caught out when something awkward happened. At least, that was the theory. She should have known it would all turn rotten because of one thing.

Yang, herself. Few plans survived contact with the enemy, or so her Uncle often said. No plans survived contact with Yang.

"Stupid Yang, and stupid friends…" she mumbled, dusting herself down. If it wasn't enough that Yang wanted to ditch her only sister, she'd done it to hang out with old friends from Signal. "So much for sisters sticking together. What am I supposed to do now?"

She didn't know anyone here.

She didn't have any friends that came with her from Signal.

She had nothing!

The world seemed to swirl around her, a pressing crush of people in every direction. All of a sudden, it wasn't their weapons which caught her attention, but rather the way they were all speaking with other people. They were making friends, chatting – being social.

It was a disaster!

Ruby swooned and turned away to run. She saw the moment of collision before it happened. A girl with white hair, a trolley filled with suitcases, and her clumsy body running straight into it like an idiot. Ruby saw it all, including the way the girl's eyes widened. She clenched her own against the impending impact.

This was going to be the worst introduction to Beacon _ever_!

"Whoa there," a masculine voice called. Arms wrapped about her waist, hoisting her back before she could become one with the luggage. "That was close. Are you okay?"

"Watch where you're going!" the white-haired girl snapped. "Do you have any idea what nearly happened?"

Ruby's lips wavered, and she cracked one eye open. She was safe… for now. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"That doesn't matter. Do you have any idea of what kind of damage you almost caused!?"

Ruby stammered for an answer, but had nothing. Even if she'd had an excuse, she didn't think she would have felt confident enough to give them. Why was this girl shouting at her so much? This wasn't fair. It was an accident.

"You said almost," someone behind her said. "She didn't bump into you, so there's no reason to shout at her, right?"

"W-Well that's true, but the principle is still the same!" The girl growled angrily, but paused as she noticed the people around them watching carefully. They'd not yet all left after the teacher, and several were muttering things under their breath. "Fine," she growled. "I don't want to cause a scene, and I suppose nothing happened. You, however…" She paused to glare at Ruby. "Stay away from me and my belongings. The last thing I need is for you to damage them."

But… but she didn't _do_ anything. Ruby bit her lip and watched as the girl wheeled away without so much as an introduction. Great, perfect… she'd been separated from Yang for all of twenty seconds and she'd already managed to make an enemy for life. Argh, what a disaster!

"You okay?"

Ruby blinked in confusion, wondering for a second where the voice came from, before she felt a breath of air atop her head, and then recalled the arms wrapped about her. They were hard and firm, yet also gentle. Wait a moment… was she pressed against someone's chest? Hard body behind her, check. Arms over her waist, check. Male voice in her ear, check.

But there was something missing…

"Arghh!" Ruby broke free. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

Oh, there it was. Complete and immediate panic, check and check again! All the blood rushed to her face, and she waved her arms wildly. Somewhere in between all of that, she took the time to notice it was a tall boy with blonde hair and blue eyes, but most of that paled in comparison to how she'd basically been in his arms.

It had felt ni- no, bad Ruby!

"Hey, it's fine," he said, laughing awkwardly. "You're Ruby, right?"

"Y-You know my name?"

He froze, eyes growing wider. "E-Er, I overheard someone say it."

Oh right, Yang. She was as loud as ever, so it wasn't too weird. Still, he'd come over to talk to her, and even saved her from that scary girl. Ruby's heart beat a little faster. What was she supposed to do? This was a complete stranger that had come along and rescued her. Where was Yang? Where was her emotional backup!?

Okay, okay. This was fine. She just had to remember what her Dad taught her.

No, wait. She had a feeling `Don't talk to strangers` wasn't the right choice here. Everyone in Beacon was a stranger, and the only non-stranger had already abandoned her. Oh, and as if to make things worse, it looked like he'd been trying to talk to her and she'd completely ignored or not heard a word he'd said.

"-think?" he finished.

Ruby blanched. "Um… maybe?"

Safe answer. That was a safe answer. Oh gods, what if he'd asked her something weird, though? This was bad. This was so bad. Okay, this was easy. People talked all the time, and they got on fine. She wasn't a coward. Being nervous wasn't the same as being afraid, and she could do this. She totally could.

All she had to do was talk like a normal person, and not under any circumstances say something that would make her look weird or sound unusual. How hard could it be? Just… say something. Anything. Anything at all.

Ruby smiled hysterically and slammed her scythe into the ground. "This is my baby!"

Her eye twitched.

 _Nooooo,_ the rational part of her mind howled. _That was the worst thing to say! Why would you do that!?_

 _I have no idea! You told me to say anything._

 _NOT THAT! Anything but that!_

 _Okay, it's fine. I can recover this._

"So, you know my name, but I don't know yours."

"Oh right," he smiled and scratched the back of his head. It was an almost cute gesture. "The name's Jaune Arc. I uh… I came over because you looked a little lonely. I thought we could hang out…"

There was something off about that, even Ruby could tell. Maybe it was the fact he looked away when he said that, or maybe that she definitely hadn't been alone, since Yang had only decided to win the worst sister ever award like, ten seconds before he caught her.

Why would he lie, though? What other reason was there for a guy to come and talk to a girl like he… was…?"

Ruby's face went white.

And then very, _very_ red.

No way. Nuh-uh. She had to be wrong. Ha, she was being silly. She was totally being silly, ridiculous even. Hah, it wasn't like it could be like _that_ , right? She didn't even know him, and he didn't know her. Besides, it was Yang who got that kind of attention, even if some people did say she was cute as well.

Her cheeks darkened and she looked away, teasing the floor with one foot. Even though she was almost completely sure she was wrong, there was that part of her which couldn't let the idea go. That didn't exactly help her already nervous self.

"So, uh…" She trailed off. "Thanks for saving me from that girl…"

"No problem. You looked like you needed a little help, so I thought I'd come over and deliver."

Ruby's heart skipped a beat. She coughed and glanced away, laughing softly. _Didn't you just say you came over because I looked lonely? W-What happened to that!?_

"Ha ha, yeah." She laughed and brushed some hair back from her ear, then paused and wondered if that looked too much like she was trying to impress him. Wait, what was she supposed to do? Was she meant to encourage this?

Did she _want_ to encourage it?

But what if he wasn't as good a guy as she thought he was?

What if he wasn't interested at all and she was making a big deal out of nothing?

What if she thought wasn't interested, but he _was_ interested, and when she didn't make a deal out of it, he was hurt and felt bad?

Okay, now she could feel a headache coming on. Where was Yang!?

 _This is ridiculous. I just need to calm down and think this through like a totally normal person. There's like a million reasons he could have come and talked to me._

"So, what kind of weapon do you have?" she asked. Weapons were a safe topic. They always were. "You've seen my scythe. It's also a high-impact sniper rifle." She smiled. "I made him myself. He's called Crescent Rose."

He looked suitably impressed. As he should. Crescent Rose was the best weapon ever.

"That's amazing. I only have a sword and shield." He held them both up, and showed how his scabbard collapsed into a shield, which was pretty cool. She also couldn't help but think how the guy who'd come and saved her had the weapons of a knight. He even had armour, too. He either ignored or didn't notice her red cheeks. "You said you made yours on your own?"

"Yep. In Signal."

"That's incredible. You must be really talented."

"I-I wouldn't say that…" Her eyes darted away. "I mean, anyone could do this. Ha ha. It's nothing special. I-I'm not anything special even if I did get let in early."

"Early?"

Oh crud, she wasn't supposed to say that! Normal knees, normal knees, she was just a normal girl with normal knees.

"You were accepted into Beacon before you even finished Signal? That's amazing."

"I-It really isn't!"

"You're incredible, Ruby."

Gah!

"I was just wondering…"

She smiled weakly. "Y-Yeah?"

"I'm pretty new to Beacon, and to Vale as well. If you're from Signal, then you must have come to Vale a few times, right?" He smiled at her, and although her legs felt a little weak, she managed to nod back. "Well maybe we could go out into Vale some time. It would be great if you could show me around."

"O-Out into Vale?" she asked. Her heart was going crazy now. She was still overreacting, surely. There was no way he was asking what she thought he was asking. "F-For what kinds of things? What did you have in mind?"

"Well… maybe a movie?"

Nothing. That was what she felt. It wasn't shock, horror, or even disgust. She felt nothing because her brain had stopped working. The only thing in her head was a high-pitched whine, followed by an almost bemused thought.

 _Huh… maybe I wasn't wrong after all. Panic?_

She considered it for a second. Yes… panic sounded like a good idea.

"I-I have to find someone," Ruby said, laughed, hyperventilated. She wasn't sure. "Thanks for saving me. It was nice to see you, Jaune. You're r-really nice. Ha ha, um, excuse me!"

"Huh? H-Hang on, Ruby!"

Nope.

Not for all the cookies in Beacon. She darted away from him, eyes clenched shut, and then pushed her way through the crowds walking away after one of the teachers. She kept her head low, and even drew her hood up to cover her crimson cheeks. If she was lucky, they'd camouflage well and everyone would just think she was a possessed article of clothing with a scythe. Okay, maybe that wouldn't be a good thing, but she was panicking! She was allowed to not be thinking straight.

She didn't so much find Yang as be impeded by her.

That was to say she crashed into her sister and they were both dragged to the ground. Ruby whimpered and opened her mouth to apologise, but that soon turned into a frown when she saw who it was she'd collided with.

"Geez, sis. We were only separated for five minutes. You miss me this much?"

Ruby slapped Yang's shoulder and growled angrily. "You abandoned me!"

"I was trying to have you make some friends." Yang laughed. "I take it that didn't go to plan."

"Y-Y-You idiot! Do you have any idea how embarrassed I was!?"

"Ruby, it's just talking to people. What's the worst that can happen?"

Ruby hit her again, just because it felt right. The tall teacher cleared her throat and stared at them, as did most of the other students, but right now she was impervious to humiliation on account of already being at maximum capacity. She let Yang help her up, then clung onto her arm. Voice low, she filled her in on just why she was the worst sister to ever exist.

"After you abandoned me, I almost fell on some crabby girl's luggage, and even though I didn't, she kept telling me off. She was horrible!"

"Ah well, one bad experience isn't-"

"But that's not it," she interrupted. "I didn't fall because some boy saved me. He caught me and helped me, then made the crabby girl go away."

"See! That's wonderf-"

" _Then,_ he started complimenting and being nice to me."

Yang paused. "Well… that's good, right?"

"But he kept saying how amazing I was, and how everything I did was really impressive, and he was so nice and kept smiling, and he had his arms around me, an-"

"Whoa, what was that last one?" Yang's smile had become increasingly brittle. "I think I misheard one of those things."

"A-And he said how he'd come over because I looked lonely, but then changed his story and it was because he wanted to help me from the crabby girl, but that couldn't be true because it was only like five seconds from me being upright to falling."

"Well, maybe he had good luck?"

"And he knew my name," Ruby whined. "He knew who I was, and he said I was amazing, and he wanted me to show him around Vale and we could go see a movie together. Yaaang, I've never been so embarrassed in my life!" She pouted and looked up at her sister. "What do I say? What do I do!?"

Yang's smile was still in place, but it looked frozen to her face. It didn't quite reach the eyes either, which were both incredibly wide, and also rather red.

"Yang?"

"Why, you stay with me, of course," her sister said, hooking an arm around Ruby's shoulders. "You stay with me, and you never leave my sight, understood?"

Ruby's eyes were flat. "But you told me I needed to make friends."

"And we tried that and it didn't work," Yang said, smiling. "Now we give up and never try again."

"Is… Is that how it really works?"

Yang laughed and tugged her close, running a hand through her hair. Ruby hated when she did that, but it was just familiar enough to calm her down – even if it left her pouting and rubbing it straight again. Also, was Yang angry, or had she just been unusually rough on purpose? Oh wait, no, her eyes were still bright red.

"Just trust me on this one, Ruby. When has your big sister ever steered you wrong?"

Ruby blinked.

"You mean today, or in the last half-hour?"

/-/

So… that was Ozpin.

The man had been different from what he'd expected, though even then he wasn't exactly sure _what_ he'd been expecting in the first place. Clearly, the headmaster wasn't going to act like a mastermind criminal from the movies, and there was no mention of Atlas, their meeting or the unusual package he'd seen be brought into the school.

At the same time, he'd been a little eccentric for a teacher of children, even if those children were learning to be huntsmen and huntresses. He'd basically stood on the stage and given some mysterious comment about work, commitment and probably a bunch of other things that had gone straight over his head.

Not exactly the most motivating of welcome speeches. Hell, Oobleck's had been better and the man had abducted him!

Either way, Ozpin was a distraction for now. Like Oobleck said, the headmaster was too powerful for Jaune to ever think of approaching, and the only real route was through other students. Mainly, Ruby Rose.

The meeting with her hadn't exactly gone to plan.

Jaune sat by a wall, his blanket over his legs and the Lapscroll balanced atop that. The screen flickered after the third failed password, and he typed `RAT` into it. There were no official messages in his inbox, but a few cursory ones with instructions on rules, regulations, and what support he could call on if needs be.

He ignored all of those, and quickly opened up a direct channel as Oobleck had shown him. A window opened, and a small square flickered. He hesitated, unsure what he should type. The computer beat him to it.

 _HQ: How can I help, Rat?_

That was fast. Did they have people just sitting there waiting for an Agent to contact them? It sounded ridiculous, especially now that it was late in the evening, but what did he know? Maybe there were Agents in the field who needed support at one in the morning. It wasn't like they could leave them if it was about the security of the Kingdom. He sighed and typed a message back.

 _Rat: How do I make friends?_

There was no response for a few seconds, and he mentally slapped himself when he realised what that sounded like.

 _Rat: It's for a mission. I need to befriend someone. I'm not sure how._

 _HQ: I see…_

 _HQ: Have you tried approaching them?_

 _Rat: It didn't go well._

 _HQ: What did you do?_

He typed in the barest details, along with what he remembered of Ruby's reaction when the person prompted him for it. He didn't _think_ he'd done anything wrong, but he clearly had. It was ridiculous. Wasn't it enough that he'd gone in confident? Even as unused to making friends as he was, he'd been polite, friendly and chatty.

Weren't those good things?

 _HQ: It doesn't sound like you made any specific mistakes._

 _Rat: But she made an excuse to leave. I must have done something wrong._

 _HQ: Not necessarily. Have you considered that it might have been some failing on their part?"_

 _Rat: What do you mean?_

 _HQ: Not every individual will respond in the same way to a given stimulus. You could be the perfect gentleman and while one woman might appreciate that, another might hate it. Personal taste plays an important factor._

Huh, that made sense. He paused and looked over to where he'd seen Ruby. She was sat next to a blonde-haired girl, wearing incredibly short shorts. He tore his eyes from her legs, and then immediately felt like an even _bigger_ pervert when he covertly aimed the computer's camera at her.

 _Rat: Do you know this person?_

 _HQ: Give me a moment._

The chat went silent for a minute or two, and it was right when he was about to tell the person it didn't matter, that a new window appeared on his screen. It was a picture of the girl's face, except this time fully clothed and smiling cockily. Information appeared alongside it, from basic details on her date of birth, age and education, to her blood type, known personality and even her measurements.

It was the tab labelled `Family` that was underlined and bolded out. He opened it up, and quickly scanned through it. Wait, what? The two of them were _related_? Jaune perked his head up over the computer and stared at them again. They didn't look even _remotely_ similar.

 _HQ: I found something else out._

Another window opened, this one a picture of what looked to be a report. He looked over it for a moment, and quickly realised what it was. When he did, he felt a little stupid. It was a school report card. Literally one of the same things he'd been forced to bring home to his family time and time again, except that this one was from Signal, and actually linked to Ruby Rose and not her sister, Yang.

 _HQ: Look at the teacher's analysis at the bottom. The final line._

He did so.

 _While individually very skilled and capable, Ruby suffers from poor social interaction with her peers. Although not a risk in itself, it does leave her open to being taken advantage of, and she is understandably nervous around others. This is one facet she will need to improve on if she wishes to be a skilled huntress._

Social awkwardness, huh?

 _HQ: This might explain her early aversion to you, especially if you did nothing wrong. Has she interacted with anyone other than her sister?_

 _Rat: No. No one._

There was no response from the HQ, not that he needed any. It really did answer everything, didn't it?

She was nervous and shy. The truth was… anticlimactic to say the least.

And here he was, assuming something more nefarious, or that she'd already found him out and decided to rebuff him. In reality, she was just the shy girl she looked like, and she'd probably freaked out when some random guy two years older than her decided to come on too strong. Oh god, she probably hated his guts!

That wasn't a good sign.

 _Rat: Any advice on how to break through to her? I could use some tips._

 _HQ: Time and exposure are the two most effective ways of breaking through just about anything. Shyness, trauma, anger… even mountains give way to steady pressure from rain and water. So long as you don't push too hard, you might be able to win her trust if she is forced to be around you._

 _Rat: And how can I force her?_

 _HQ: Ask yourself what is held tomorrow – and what it means for the students who pass initiation._

Initiation. The test to see who would be accepted into Beacon, but from what Oobleck had also explained, a test to see which teams they would be assigned to. The answer hit him immediately. If he could get onto the same team as Ruby, he'd have all the time in the world to talk with her. She'd _have_ to get used to him, and would almost certainly come to accept him in time.

It was perfect.

If it worked…

 _Rat: I can request specific support here, right?_

 _HQ: You can, Agent. Ask, and if it is possible, we shall provide._

 _Rat: I need some way of locating a specific person in initiation. I need to cheat. Is there anything you can do?_

There was a long pause, before the cursor flickered once more, indicating typing on the other end. The message was simple and short.

 _HQ: It will be done._

No explanation, no details, but he supposed that was confirmation enough. Maybe the person just didn't know yet, but would let him know once it was done. Maybe not. In the end, he'd have to trust they knew more than him. He flicked the computer off and stashed it away in his backpack. The lights were already dimming as people prepared to sleep. So far, Ruby had yet to talk to anyone other than him and her sister.

Tomorrow would tell if things improved.

/-/

A shadowed figure slipped through the corridors of Beacon. They moved calmly, easily, but kept their face hidden from any cameras by turning subtly away. A hoodie was pulled up to disguise them, and their hands were buried in their pockets. So late at night, it was unusual, but not unheard of, for the students to wander.

And it wasn't unusual for them to enter the locker rooms either. People forgot things all the time, especially their scrolls.

What was perhaps a little more unusual was for the individual to eschew the lockers of older students, and instead move to the rocket lockers given to the newcomers. The figure looked around furtively, then knelt by one in particular. They drew a scroll from their pocket and held it to the keypad. Numbers and asterisks flickered as the dial wheeled, testing combination after combination, while also dulling the lock's ability to raise the alarm.

It took three minutes to brute force it, and the combination clicked into place. The locker door opened.

Inside was an assortment of clothing and equipment, but also a blue-hilted longsword sheathed in a white scabbard. The figure inspected it and nodded. Another bag came from under their hoodie, deposited in front of the weapon in such a way as to make it obvious to the one who would open the locker. It clicked shut a second later and the figure moved quickly away.

One hand rose to their collar.

"Mission complete."

" _Well done, Magician. Exfiltrate."_

"Understood."

Magician slipped away and down a different corridor. As she passed by the auditorium, she paused to listen to the various snores and sounds within. Rat was in there, on what was his first real field mission. Hopefully the gift she'd provided would be of use.

"Good luck, Rat."

* * *

 **Some small changes made, though those might not be fully apparent. Poor Rubaby, and also poor Jaune, I suppose. You really did try a little too hard. What's someone to think if you come on that strong?**

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 **Next Chapter: 13** **th** **August**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	5. Chapter 5

**So yeah, there was a small error this week with the fic. I deleted the author's note chapter as I said I would, but the site decided that was an update, and even though it didn't sent out an update email, still put me at the top of the list and claimed there was a new chapter. I'm not sure why it did that, or why it did one and not both things, but whatever, it happened.**

 **Here's the actual chapter.**

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

* * *

Oobleck adjusted his glasses and tried to ignore the distortions they caused to his already perfect vision. Would that they could have been fake frames, but there was too much risk involved if someone were to borrow them and discover the truth. Ultimately, he had to deal with the annoyance for what it was. At least he had some early morning coffee to dim the frustration, and provide some much needed caffeine.

"Another year and another initiation, old boy," Peter Port laughed. "I can't believe it's already that time again. Why, it feels like just yesterday when we were welcoming last year's applicants into Beacon. How time flies."

"Indeed, and it's good to see so many eager faces," he replied – voice a little more high pitched than usual, and being sure to speed up his speech patterns a little. The persona he'd claimed was complex in its simplicity, an awkward and bizarre figure that must have looked to have a few screws loose. No one questioned a person like that. "Still, I have to say that there are one or two things that disturb me, old friend. I do hope Ozpin will have some answers for us."

"Disturb? Ha, I'm sure it's nothing. We'll be there to keep an eye on them all, and if there are any who aren't brave or strong enough, we can get them out of the forest before anything happens."

"It's not the quality of the students that worries me." He glanced at Port, but the larger man didn't seem interested or suspicious. "I'll talk with Ozpin about it."

It didn't take long for the two to reach the staffroom, where Ozpin had convened the annual last-minute meeting. Traditionally, it was used to discuss the initiation and any questions the teachers had, but since that had become a refined and steady process, it was now used as a last chance to share faculty or curriculum concerns, or just to make sure everyone was on the same wavelength when it came to the start of a new year. That was why it had been renamed the last-minute meeting, after all.

"Oobleck, Port," Ozpin nodded to each of them as they entered. He was already sat at his desk, and rather predictably, Miss Goodwitch was sat beside him. "It is good to see you again. I hope you took advantage of last night and rested? We have a busy day ahead of us."

He hadn't, actually, but that was where the coffee came in. His night had been too busy digging through everything he knew about the students, both as a teacher and the Director of Operations for the VSS. Not too many of the students had stuck out, but that was the danger. Only a foolish spy stood out, and it was the quiet ones you needed to keep an eye on.

The fact that 99% of the files he'd looked through would inevitably prove worthless wasn't lost on him. The fact irritated him even now, but work was work, and national security was just that.

"Now that we're all here, I suppose I'll start by saying we will be going with the same initiation process as usual, and nothing much has changed other than the choice of relics for the students to secure."

"What did you use this year?" Glynda asked.

"You'll have to wait and see."

It was chess pieces. Oobleck had noticed an order for a gold-plated chess set, and it had yet to appear in the headmaster's office. What was more, the pieces had been a little on the larger side – unwieldy for play, but perfect as something to recover in the field.

"Now that the basics are over, why don't we move onto the real meeting," Ozpin said. "Are there any last-minute concerns?"

The formality quickly drained from the room, replaced with quick reports from Glynda and Peter both on what they thought might be in need of replacement or what might help in the year. Oobleck listened to them all, of course – even Peter's, which were usually on the dramatic side. Glynda's suggestions were far more practical, and often came with a price breakdown which she provided on a file. Ozpin was lucky to have her, and if her loyalty hadn't been so firm, Oobleck might have considered trying to recruit her to the VSS.

It was, though. Glynda Goodwitch held an almost fanatical belief in her headmaster. Such people could not be allowed to work within the organisation.

"I do have one concern of my own," he eventually said, after having waited for the headmaster's guard to be weathered down a little. "I understand that there were several last-minute additions to the roster this year. We normally have the list of students long in advance, but this year there were some added names I had not seen before."

"There were some individuals who showed great promise," Ozpin said. "I saw no reason not to admit them."

Great promise, huh? Knowing Jaune, Oobleck wouldn't have said so.

"There is one in particular I'm worried about, a Miss Ruby Rose." Oobleck watched Ozpin's expression, and filed away the man's response. Nothing… Ozpin didn't react at all. How interesting. "She was added to the list only a few days ago."

"Is that a problem, Bart?" Ozpin asked. "I can assure you that she is skilled enough to be here, although if I am wrong, I'm sure initiation will show it."

"It is not her physical skills I worry about, headmaster. I have seen her records from Signal as well as anyone else, and I can agree she is at the level of a Beacon first year. It is her mental acumen and her academics I question."

"Come now, Bart," Peter guffawed. "A little lapse in book smarts isn't a bad thing. Being a huntress is all about being able to fight."

Oobleck kept his eyes on Ozpin's. "There is more to being a huntress than fighting, Peter."

"Oobleck is correct," Glynda said. "I was initially worried about this myself. However skilled and mature she may be, there will still be a two year gap in her education." She looked to Ozpin. "Sir, I don't mean to question you, but-"

"I admit that there will be an issue, but it is not one that cannot be overcome," Ozpin said. "Potential such as hers does not come around often, and I wouldn't see it deteriorate in Signal. We can fill the gaps in her knowledge. That is our role as teachers, is it not?"

"You're right." Glynda nodded happily. "I have no objections."

Just like that, her doubts were assuaged. It looked like his influence over her was strong, and his defence of Miss Rose certainly highlighted his interest in her. To complain any more would only draw attention, so Oobleck nodded and withdrew his concern as well.

His suspicions had been confirmed either way, and he'd rather the object of the headmaster's attention be under his watchful eye than not.

"Perhaps it's too early to say," Oobleck said. "She has yet to even pass initiation, and she may yet surprise me. If she needs help in class, I can always assign her some text books to read up on."

"Thank you, Bart. I'm sure Miss Rose would appreciate it." Ozpin nodded, and looked to the others. "If that is all, I believe we have our positions to maintain. Bart, Peter, if the two of you can watch over the weaker students. We've not had an accident in several years, and I'd like to maintain that. Glynda, if you'll accompany me to the launch pads?"

"Of course, Ozpin…"

Oobleck rose and followed Peter away, exchanging some polite farewells with the other members of the staff. As he did, he couldn't help but think of his latest fledgling, currently learning to fly with so little training.

Hopefully Rat was having more luck than he was.

/-/

Jaune stared down at the little pouch in front of his sword and shield.

He then slammed the locker door shut and looked around. That hadn't been there the other day, he was sure of it. Was this… was this the help he'd been promised? Also, why had he acted so weirdly about it? No one knew what was in his locker and no one would have thought it was out of place, except that _now_ , everyone was staring at him because he looked suspicious.

Whoops.

"H-Ha ha," he laughed, nervously opening the door and hiding his head inside. He wasn't sure if he should have felt relieved or offended when everyone rolled their eyes and looked away. There was his goofy reputation again, already taking hold, and likely saving him at the same time. "Ugh, I'm such an idiot," he whispered. "I wonder what they gave me, though."

It was a small thing in a leather pouch barely six or seven inches long and four or five wide. His hand hovered over it for a second, but he decided to slip it into his pocket rather than open it here. There was no telling what it was, and it might be something he was meant to keep hidden. Grabbing his weapons and securing them at his waist, he pushed back and closed the locker, just in time to see a familiar face.

Said familiar face froze, eyes going wide.

"Hey Ruby," he called, waving.

"H-Hi Jaune…" She waved back gingerly, but also took a half-step behind her sister. The tall blonde stared at him for a long moment before she whispered something he didn't catch and led her sister away. Ruby nodded and followed after her, walking past him. "Um, I'll see you around Jaune. Good luck."

His expression turned sickly once she was gone. Luck, huh? Yeah, it definitely looked like he needed it. So far he was scoring a big fat zero on the whole befriending Ruby scale. He couldn't even blame her sister since even if she had led Ruby away, it was clear it hadn't been under duress.

 _Well, this about echoes my previous experiences with talking to girls. Maybe I should have warned Oobleck my ability to make friends is limited to my fellow nerds and social outcasts._ There was a reason he'd never had a girlfriend, after all, and he refused to accept that it was all because of confidence.

Still, it wasn't the end of the world. Like the person from last night said, he didn't technically need to make friends with her straight away. The best bet would be to make sure they ended up on the same team, and he had an advantage on that front, since no one else even knew there _was_ a team-making process.

Feeling a little more assured, Jaune moved out of the locker area and went to grab a snack before initiation. Most of the people around him were already busy making friends and acquaintances, but he avoided it, partly because of his true mission, but mostly because he was too awkward to just walk up and speak with anyone either way. He considered looking for Ren and Nora, who were at least friendly faces, but the two were nowhere to be seen.

In the end, he hovered alone and awkward on the outskirts, waiting until the summons came over a speaker system that they were to arrange at the Beacon cliffs. Several older students marked the way in uniform, their arms pointed in the right direction.

The cliffs themselves were pretty much what he'd expected. There was a cliff, a drop, and then the Emerald Forest down below. Beacon's naming scheme seemed fairly obvious, not that he could complain. He wasn't even surprised when the headmaster explained how they would be thrown into the forest, though judging from how _everyone_ reacted, he wished he had.

 _I need to start acting like a normal person. I can't be calm and collected, because I'm not supposed to know what's about to happen!_

Luckily, he was able to redeem himself once Ozpin added the next bit.

"As for creation of teams and partners, we have decided on a tried and tested method that will provide ample opportunity for teamwork, personal growth, and diversity." He smiled at them. "Simply put, the first person you make eye-contact with will be your partner."

"What!?" Jaune cried.

"WHAT!?" His target echoed.

Well, at least he sounded like a normal student.

 _First to make eye-contact, what kind of method is this? Okay, I can't panic – there has to be a good thing about this. If Ruby sees me first, then she has to be my partner. That means she can't argue, so all I need to do is make sure I land as close to her as possible._

That shouldn't be too hard. She was about three or four launch pads to the left, while he was roughly in the middle, a choice he'd made purposefully, since it hadn't been too hard to figure out what the big metal plates were for. Not after Oobleck's warning of being `launched` into the forest.

A pair of lilac eyes met his a few places further down, the person narrowing them as she caught him staring at her sister. He cursed and looked away, but the damage had already been done.

 _And now her sister thinks I'm some kind of stalker. Wow, I'm really doing well at this._

"You will be making your own landing strategy, after which you will make your way to the ruined temple and find a relic. The first person you make eye-contact with en route will be your partner for the next four years. Choose wisely. Are there any questions?"

"Yes," Jaune answered, hand in the air. "Where is the temple?"

"You will need to find it."

"What are the relics?"

"You will need to discern them."

"What's our landing strategy?"

"You will be making your own," Ozpin said blithely. "Any more questions?"

"Yes, why are you asking us if we have any questions if you're not going to answer them?"

"Why, indeed," Ozpin said. "Ah, I remember."

He pushed a button.

The launch pad moved.

/-/

Jaune dragged himself up and out of the bushes with a loud groan. It was followed by silence as he looked down at himself, half-expecting to see his legs broken and twisted at an odd angle, or to feel excruciating agony.

And he did… at least the agony part. His back hurt like crazy, and the hand he'd grabbed the tree branch with wasn't feeling much better – but it was nothing compared to what he _should_ have felt if he'd crashed out of the sky like that, i.e. broken bones, ruptured blood vessels and probably paralysis as well. This felt more like he'd tripped over his own feet and smashed his face against the floor, which despite his best efforts, wasn't an uncommon occurrence.

Was aura really that powerful?

Also, had Oobleck really not bothered to give him any advice on how to land?

"Okay, that's enough whining. Can I still walk? Huh, I can." He tested himself for a second, hopping on the spot, but everything was still working. "Sheesh, I guess aura really is this good." The VSS were right, too. If he'd continued on without meeting them, then he'd likely be a puddle of red on the floor right now.

There was a gunshot above him, and Jaune looked up in time to see a yellow figure propel herself over the canopy by shooting backwards. He watched her pass by for a second, and sighed once she was gone. Why didn't he have something cool like that? The VSS could have changed his weapon, but instead he was still stuck with his father's old sword and shield. Talk about unfair.

 _Not that I'd be any better with a gun,_ he thought, looking down at Crocea Mors. _The only thing I know how to use is a knife… though I suppose changing that to a sword can't be too hard._

It was the point at the end of the day. He wasn't supposed to be good at this, or he'd stand out, and that meant the VSS couldn't let him use any of its fancy gadgets.

Wait, gadgets? His eyes widened as he remembered the gift in his locker, and he dug it out of his pocket. Opening it, he found another, smaller, pouch inside – and also a load of cloth that fell out onto the floor. He stared down at it, before he lifted up the corners to see strong fibres attached to the ends, and down to a handle.

It was a parachute…

He wanted to smash his face against a tree, but settled for muffling a scream into his hands instead. Emotional breakdown averted, he turned away from the damning evidence of his stupidity and looked at the other packet. No more mistakes. He was opening this one now. The leather flap clicked open, and he peeled it back, revealing something wrapped in soft cloth. Once that was drawn back, he looked down at the item.

It was a stylish set of sunglasses in matte black. Jaune turned them over, scanning the stylised AT written on the sides in silver scrolling. There didn't seem to be much else to them however. They looked good, he supposed. He wasn't one for fashion, but they definitely looked to be a designer brand. He'd never heard of AT, though.

 _The VSS wouldn't waste my time with something useless. There's probably more to these._

They fit well when he put them on, and did as they were supposed to in dimming the bright light. Other than that, there wasn't anything different about them. Well, at least in any obvious manner. There was something that flickered on the edge of his vision, however, nothing concrete, but almost like a screen turning on and off. Jaune pressed a finger to the side of them, trying to adjust it, but it remained. On a hunch, he held his hands over the glasses to block out the sun.

"Activate night vision."

Everything went green.

"Deactivate."

Colour flooded back, and with it his good mood. AT stood for Atlas Tech, of course, a subtle hint to the term Oobleck and the VSS used to describe the gifts from an allied Kingdom. If the lenses in the glasses were the same kind as his mask, then this would be useful indeed. He touched it again.

"Activate thermal."

There was a moment of nothingness before a red wave washed from left to right over the material. From the outside, nothing probably changed, but he could now see various patches of enhanced colour. It wasn't perfect, and hardly let him pick out shapes a few hundred metres away, but it would let him avoid the wrong people, like the tall figure currently headed his way. Ruby wasn't tall, so that one was out, and he ducked into the bushes and away.

Pyrrha Nikos arrived a second later – though she'd later wonder just how the young man she'd been looking for slipped away.

/-/

Yang landed hard, rolling over to disperse some energy, and then breaking her momentum on the back of an unfortunate Beowolf. It complained about it, but was silenced a second later as Ember Celica sent back a rebuttal. As ever, it was an effective means of communication.

Not that she had the time to waste.

"Got to find Ruby," she mumbled, pushing up and dashing away. "That guy is totally after her, no two ways about it. No idea what his goal is, but if he thinks he's pushing himself on her team, jhe's got another thing coming."

Two Ursa got in her path, and as she dodged past them, one even had the temerity to cut a strand of hair from her head.

Lilac eyes flashed red, but slipped back to lilac once more.

"Let it go," she whispered, fighting the urge for violence. "Ruby is more important. I've got to find her!"

Yang grit her teeth and turned away, putting distance between herself and the two Grimm – as well as the curious faunus who had come to investigate. The two Ursa made to follow, but were cut down in a quick, acrobatic manoeuvre.

"Someone's in a rush," Blake commented, stood over the dissipating remains and staring off after the strange girl. "Well, never mind. I suppose I can find a different partner."

/-/

 _That's too tall to be Ruby,_ he thought to himself, crouched low as he watched the red outline move past. The figure was too tall and well-set, and the masculine voice hardly helped matters. Jaune watched as the guy moved away, and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw him bump into another person.

"There you are, Russel. Started to think I wouldn't find you."

"This place is a maze," the figure who was apparently called Russel said. "Either way, I think I know where the ruin is. I climbed a tree earlier to get a view. It's off to the west."

"Good man. Let's make our way there before all the relics are gone."

"Gone…?"

"Use your head, Rus. There were way too many people sleeping in that area. I bet there'll be a limit, and any that don't grab one are too weak to be in Beacon." The man clapped Russel's arm. "Come on. Let's go."

Jaune let out a sigh when they left, but his relief was short lived. Were they right about the relics? Oobleck hadn't told him anything about this, but that didn't mean it wasn't the case. If he spent too much time looking for Ruby, then what happened if he failed initiation? Come to think of it, she would be heading to the ruins as well. Would it be best for him to await her there? It would run the risk of her finding a different partner on the way, but if she went there first and he didn't, then she'd run into all the people making their way for the ruins.

One of those was bound to meet her eyes and not have a partner.

 _It's my best bet. If I hide near the ruins, I can wait until I see her appear, then come out to catch her attention. Sure, it'll be clumsy, but it beats wandering around the forest hoping for the best._

Keeping his glasses on, Jaune crept after the two, trusting them to lead him in the right direction. They met up with two more on the way, another pair of guys who knew the others by name and were apparently called Sky and Dove.

The four of them looked like old friends, and had probably planned to end up teamed together. Whatever they were, however, subtle was not it. They made more than enough noise as they went through the forest, not just in plants and branches that cracked underfoot, but also the constant chatter to keep their moods up. They laughed and joked, and even stopped to kill every Grimm they came upon. It made following them stealthily easy, since they wouldn't have heard his footsteps even if he'd jumped on the spot. It was slow going, though. They certainly didn't seem to be in any rush, despite the apparent leader's comment earlier on the relics being a finite resource.

He could have rushed ahead, he supposed. They all had partners now, so they wouldn't stop him if he ran on past, but that would mean scaling a tree like Russel said, and that wasn't something he was overly confident in without his cheating VSS armguards. Better to stay quiet and follow after them, and that way they could act as an early warning if they met any new people. If it was Ruby, he could come out. If not, he could let these guys explain they were all partnered, and the person could walk away.

Such was the plan, anyway. He just hoped it worked out.

/-/

Ren let out a quiet sigh as the King Taijitu's second head came around and snapped towards him. He ducked underneath, and lashed out under its chin, scoring a line across what might have been its throat. The great weight came crashing down to crush him, but he skipped away, planting one foot on a nearby tree and kicking off when the first head came once more. It smashed through bark and wood, uprooting the thick oak in one go. Ren landed a few feet away and quickly fired off six or seven shots, each of which rattled off the chitinous plate around the white head's eyes.

 _This is quite the large specimen to be so close to Vale. I wonder what has them growing so large._

King Taijitu were slightly more dangerous than he'd expected of initiation, though only to the unwary. Their tendency to keep their second head hidden until the last second had apparently claimed many huntsmen and civilians, and few were prepared for the speed of its ambush.

Ren, however, liked to read – and that gave him an unfair advantage.

 _Overpowering it is an option, but that would take time and energy, and there might be more Grimm yet ahead. If I recall, the best way to deal with these is to make use of the fact the heads are capable of independent action, but not independent thought._

Simply put, use the Grimm's mindless nature against them.

The next time the white head came in for the attack, Ren dodged to the side and behind a tree instead of counter-attacking. Keeping a single eye on it, he rushed towards the recovery black head and hopped over it, then ducked down behind a rock on the other side – out of sight. The white head rushed after him, slipping under the black and searching for its prey.

Ren slipped back out on the other side and squeezed off a single shot towards the black head, drawing its attention.

"Come on…" Ren leapt aside as it struck, uprooting grass and soil. He ran to the side, on the other side of the white – and then hopped over its body. "Over here!" The black head hissed at him, red eyes narrowed. Spitting out dirt and mud, it lunged after him. This time, Ren didn't dodge, and the creature's hiss sounded hungry and victorious. Its maw opened and snapped shut.

But it never reached him.

The head blinked in incomprehension when it stopped a few feet away, and it lunged again to try and catch him. Ren watched it thrash around curiously.

"Hm, I guess it worked. You two really can't operate well around one another."

The Grimm couldn't understand him, of course. The two heads instead tried to catch him again, still unaware of the fact they'd been tangled together and were getting in one another's way. An intelligent creature would have realised this and tried to solve the problem, but the constant aggression instead caused the two to be wound tighter together. Both heads were above one another now, the Grimm trying to somehow roll its entire body to bring it closer.

Ren took a step forward to finish it off, but someone beat him to it.

A streak of red came down from the treetops, landing atop the first one's skull and stabbing down. The momentum, combined with the weight and the long, piercing weapon, pinned the white head to the black, and then both to the ground.

The King Taijitu expired a second later, though its body continued to twitch, even as it dissolved into nothingness.

"I'm sorry about that," the person said. "I could see you had it under control, but there was a chance to take out both heads at once, and I took it."

"Not a problem. I'm hardly one to complain."

The woman had red hair, but it wasn't the shade he was used to, nor were the eyes the right colour. Ren sighed, aware that he'd probably catch an earful for this later. Nora would probably claim his sloth sounds hadn't been good enough, but for now, there was little that could be done.

"My name is Lie Ren," he said, "but please, call me Ren."

"Pyrrha Nikos," his partner replied. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

/-/

This could not be happening.

It just couldn't…

She'd had a choice. She'd landed near that Ruby girl, and even had a chance to be her partner, but nooo, she'd decided the little girl was too loud and too weird to be the partner of someone like her, of Weiss Schnee. She wanted Pyrrha Nikos, not some little brat.

How she wished she could take it back.

"Come on, partner!" Nora Valkyrie cheered, dragging Weiss by the arm. "We need to find Renny and then find the ruins. Hurry!"

 _Come back, Ruby… I'm sorry…_ A lone tear ran down Weiss' cheek. _I take it all back!_

/-/

For Blake, time was running out.

She knew the ruins were close, having scaled a rocky outcrop earlier and spied it herself. She also knew that if she didn't have a partner before she arrived, then she'd surely run into someone there, and there was no telling what kind of person it would be.

 _I should have pushed myself after that girl from earlier. At least she seemed strong._

Blake sighed and hopped through the trees once more, eyes scanning the area. Her plan had been rather simple. Use the time during initiation to scout out potential partners, and find one she could feel comfortable around. The headmaster might have been content to lump them together based on random chance, but she wasn't. She could remain hidden and silent, watching her potential partner to see what they were like before she made a decision.

The plan was good, but she'd overlooked one thing.

Bad luck.

Whether it was luck, design or just happenstance, she simply hadn't run into that many people. There'd been the blonde girl from earlier, but she'd sprinted away before Blake could catch her. Then there'd been the redhead, who Blake recognised as Pyrrha Nikos. Her fighting ability would certainly be a great boon, but her fame not quite as much. The last thing she needed was for undue attention to be focused on her partner, and also her. Blake wanted someone a little lower key.

And the orange-haired girl certainly wasn't that. Unless by key, she meant something on a musical scale – in which case `decibels` would have been a better scale. As in, a lot of them.

 _The more time I take, the worse my chances become,_ she realised. _I bet most people are already teamed up by now… I can't afford to waste any more time._

A commotion caught her attention towards the east, and Blake ducked behind the bough of her tree, crouched on an upper branch. Her lips twisted as she heard raucous laughter coming her way. Whomever it was had no sense of subtlety, nor for caution. She didn't want to end up partnered with such a loud individual.

Luckily it wasn't one but four, and they all seemed content with one another. Four large and loud young men, trading rude jokes between one another as they walked through the Grimm-infested forest like they owned it. It served as yet more evidence that she had to make a decision soon. If she ended up with someone like _that_ for four years, then she wasn't sure she would make it.

She was about to push off and slip away when a flash of yellow caught her eye.

There, further behind the four, another figure slipped through the underbrush. He was crouched low, one hand to the grass, and he moved along after the others with strange care. He wasn't silent, at least not as silent as she could be, but the effort was there, and he'd certainly remained undetected to the ones he was tracking.

Blake watched him curiously.

The paranoid part of her said he was stalking them, but that was ridiculous. This wasn't the White Fang, and an ambush didn't lay behind every action. Perhaps he felt the best way to reach the relic would be under their protection. Maybe he didn't want to bed partnered with any of them – a sentiment she could understand. Maybe he wanted to use them as cover to draw all the Grimm, while he slipped by undetected.

Whatever the motive, he was at least quieter than those four, and apparently more intelligent, too.

 _I don't remember him doing much from last night. He was further down the wall from me, and seemed concentrated on his Lapscroll._ Her eyes narrowed. _He's quiet, at least. He's also careful and clever, even if I'm not sure if he can fight or not._

People snuck around for different reasons. There was no telling if it was because he was weak, or simply opportunistic. There was a sword at his side, and he wore armour, so that at least _suggested_ he was able to fight. If he were someone who avoided it at all costs, he would wear no armour, and probably have a ranged weapon to keep him out of trouble.

Blake crept across her branch as the four walked by, her eyes focused on the straggler that moved from cover to cover behind them. Her brow creased when he paused. His quarry hadn't, so what had caught his attention?

Her eyes widened.

He was looking straight at her.

She moved instinctively, ducking back and hopping silently from branch to branch. No one else had seen her before now, not since Adam, but when she came to a halt twenty to thirty metres away, she realised with shock that he was still watching her.

How? It was impossible. But there was no denying the direction he faced. Blake leapt to another branch, eyes on him, and was rewarded by the sight of his face tracking her.

Really, now? How interesting.

A tiny smile tugged at her lips.

The next time she moved, she left behind a clone. She darted to another branch, dropped a second, then slipped down in the brief moment of distraction, hitting the grass and moving silently into cover and around him. Breath low, movements small, she crept through the brush towards where she knew the young man should be.

As she prepared to peek through some branches, his voice reached her.

"What are you doing?"

She froze.

"I know you're there. Is this the part where you attack me?"

He sounded nervous, uncertain – and maybe just a little paranoid. None of those things were bad traits, and any fear could have been because her actions must have looked suspicious indeed. Still, his words confirmed her theory.

Blake smiled and stood, stepping from the bushes with Gambol Shroud sheathed, and her arms held empty at her side.

"I'm not here to attack," she said, noting how despite her being unarmed, he didn't look any more confident. He really was a cautious one. Well, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. "I suppose this makes us partners. The name is Blake. Blake Belladonna."

"Yeah, I guess it does." He sighed and stood a little straighter. Reaching up, he slipped the glasses from his face, revealing dark blue eyes. "Out of curiosity, have you seen or heard of a girl called Ruby around here?"

"The name is familiar. I think I saw a blonde girl earlier who said she had to find her before someone else did." Blake's eyebrow rose. "I take it she was referring to you?"

"No." He sighed when her eyebrow rose higher. "Okay, maybe. I guess it doesn't matter now. The name's Jaune Arc. I guess this means we're going to be partners for the next few years."

"I guess so," she said, shaking the offered hand.

Polite and shy, yet with a caution that someone less aware than her would have missed. No calluses on his fingers, but the ability to spot her even when she was doing her best to remain hidden. Not to mention he'd crept after a team, planning to use them to lead him to the relics instead of fighting his way through. Pragmatism... a rare trait in a young man attending a school like this. She'd seen her fair share of arrogance, so maybe it would be pleasant to have someone a little less forceful around.

Blake smiled.

It looked like her partner was an interesting person.

/-/

In the end, the collection of the relics had been more a formality than anything else. The ruins were standing still, but there was clear signs of combat. Several groups stood nearby, and there were only two remaining, which they'd been forced to accept. Another pairing had come soon after to take the final one. Of Ruby and her team, there had been nothing to see, but he found out later, they'd collected their own and made their way back to the Beacon cliffs.

Now, with initiation over, Jaune stood beside his partner, and next to the two people who had picked up the relic piece he had. Neither of those was a short girl dressed in red, and Ruby was coming off the stage right now, having been elected the leader of Ruby, Yang, Weiss Schnee and Nora. Also known as Team RYWN or Rowan. It was the leadership position Jaune paid the most attention to.

 _I'd not have thought anything odd of it before, but Oobleck was right – there's something more going on here. Ruby didn't show any sense of leadership, and with her being the youngest, there's no good reason to make her the team leader._ His brow creased as he tried to think of an explanation, but came up blank.

Ozpin wanted Ruby as the team leader for some reason – but it wasn't an obvious one. The people before them, Team CRDL, had the guy who was the obvious boss of the team as the leader. Before that, another team whose leader was the one everyone else looked to. In Ruby's team, her older sister would have been better, or even the white-haired girl.

"And finally, we have Jaune Arc, Blake Belladonna, Lie Ren and Pyrrha Nikos, who claimed the knight pieces for themselves."

Jaune and the other members of his team made their way up onto the stage. The crowd all looked their way, but he felt too exhausted to care about it. His mind instead ran through the various excuses he'd try to give the VSS later. He's failed – massively.

"Henceforth the four of you shall be known as Team ABRN or Auburn, led by Jaune Arc."

Pyrrha and Ren clapped, while Blake nudged his arm and nodded in support. As the audience politely applauded, Jaune smiled and stood with his team. Inside, however, he wasn't quite so calm. Ozpin knew his records were faked, as well as the fact he not only had no leadership experience, but that he'd shown none in initiation, either.

Despite that… he was the team leader.

 _"Ozpin knows your transcripts were fake, but wanted you enough to take the risk. If he has plans for you, then we want to know about them."_

 _"But what should I do? How can I spy on someone like him?"_

 _"By being whatever he wants you to be..."_

* * *

 **I tried hard to come up with a different name than Auburn, since it's been used in so many other stories. In the end, I was looking at strange things like Jabiru (the bird) and Amaranth (ignoring the B), or even Alabaster (ignoring Pyrrha's name).**

 **It got to the point where I was trying to reinvent the wheel for no reason however, and the team name isn't super important. I went with Auburn as a result.**

 **Also, yes, the cat and the rat have been partnered together. I'm sure that analogy won't get old anytime soon. Wow, I** _ **hate**_ **writing initiation by the way. I've written it so many times, and it gets so old that I keep trying to find new ways to spice it up. I've had bigger fights, new fights, smaller fights – but they were always for initiations drawn over two chapters. This time, I just went with no fights.**

 **There were Grimm. Just assume they were dealt with.**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 27** **th** **August**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	6. Chapter 6

**Here we go.**

* * *

 **Chapter 6**

* * *

It was the first day of Team Auburn officially being a thing, and Jaune had no idea what he was supposed to do. They woke up easily enough, and there didn't seem to be any drama between any of them. Jaune sat on his bed, Ren on the one next to it, and then Pyrrha beyond, with Blake in the corner against the wall. No one really said anything but for a few polite good mornings exchanged. No one really knew what to say, and without the pressure of initiation weighing down on them, there was no impetus to fix it.

 _I should probably do something,_ Jaune thought, _but I've got no idea what. Still, I'm the team leader. It's up to mix to fix these kinds of problems._

And he needed to fulfil the role Ozpin had given him, of course. He had to be whatever Ozpin wanted him to be. With Blake and Ren being so silent, however, and Pyrrha not looking confident enough to speak up – he knew it was going to be him who had to speak first.

"So…" he said slowly. "Our first morning."

"It is," Ren agreed.

"Hm," Blake nodded.

"It's a good morning," Pyrrha said.

"Yes," he nodded, grabbing onto the only bit that even vaguely resembled a conversation. "The sun is bright; the birds are singing…" And he had no idea what to say, and probably sounded like an idiot. "This… this isn't working, is it?"

Pyrrha looked worried. "What isn't…?"

"I think he means our arrangements for getting ready," Blake said. "Neither of us can get changed in front of the other, and there isn't much room for hiding."

It wasn't what he'd meant, but he nodded anyway, grateful for the rescue from his dark-haired partner, even if it did suddenly remind him that not only did he have two beautiful girls in sleepwear looking at him, but that his morning visitor hadn't yet subsided. He casually pulled a pillow into his lap to hide the fact.

"Jaune and I can leave the room if you'd like?" Ren offered.

"And stand outside?"

"We're wearing pyjamas."

"One of you is…" Blake gave his onesie a very telling look. "I'm not sure it would be fair to make you wait in the hall dressed like that."

Huh, but it was comfortable and stylish. "What do you mean?"

"Never mind…" Blake leaned back against the wall and drew forth a book. "Pyrrha, if you want to take the first shower, I'll wait. We can all change after getting washed. It's not like we're not up early enough."

"True," Ren allowed. "I'm happy to wait."

Jaune waved Pyrrha's questioning look off. It sounded good to him.

"Thanks, everyone. I won't be long!"

Once the door was locked and the shower was running, he looked to the others to see if they wanted to talk, but Blake was busy reading and Ren was laid flat on his back, staring at the ceiling with something akin to a rapturous look of peace and tranquillity on his face. It was weird, and hard to describe, but it looked like a man who had just discovered true peace, and now intended to enjoy it for what it was.

 _Well, that didn't exactly go to plan. I was hoping to break the ice, but all we managed was to sort out how people get changed._ An important enough decision, he guessed. It was a bridge they needed to cross, but he could bet Ruby's team was having an easier go of things. They all looked super friendly and nice… well, to each other. Obviously, Yang had a bone to pick with him, mostly because he'd managed to convince her he was a stalker.

Wonderful…

He booted up his Lapscroll and checked through the mail from the VSS. He had a few new messages, but none were overly important. Some were instructional things, teaching him what resources he could draw on, and also how he could get hold of lien if he needed it – including what excuses he could give to anyone who asked how he suddenly had so much (apparently, he now had a wealthy uncle who lived in a Schnee frontier town). Other than that, there were several general reports on dust thefts and activity in Vale, but since the introduction line said, "All Agents", he had the feeling it was a situation report sent to every member of the VSS.

At least they were treating him like a real part of their team and not a pawn. Even if he wasn't sure what it all meant, it felt nice to know they respected him enough to keep him in the know. On the issue of _his_ mission, however, there was nothing. He considered contacting HQ for advice, but held off. He couldn't go running to them every time something went wrong.

The hair on the back of his neck tickled, and a strange feeling had him looking up into golden eyes. Across the room, Blake's attention was focused on him, although not for long. She kept contact just long enough to make it clear she wasn't embarrassed to have been caught, then went back to her book.

 _What on Remnant was that all about?_

He didn't have time to think on it, for Pyrrha came out and passed the shower over to Blake. It was Ren's turn soon after, and then his – and before he even knew it, the time for lessons was close.

/-/

No way…

His eyes had to be playing tricks on him.

"Come in, come in," the teacher said. "Sit down so we may begin. There is much to learn and much to teach. You there!" he pointed to Jaune, slack-jawed in the entrance. "What are you standing out for? It's time to learn. Find yourself a seat."

"S-Sorry Professor."

"That's `Doctor` Oobleck, Mr Arc. I did not earn my PhD for fun, thank you very much!"

There was a message there, and Jaune caught onto it quickly. He was stressing the teaching word, making it clear he was to be seen as such. Jaune bowed his head. "Y-Yes sir, I apologise, Doctor Oobleck."

"Apologise with actions, not words – go sit down." Oobleck took hold of his shoulders and pushed him behind a desk on the front row. Jaune sat down automatically.

It only took him half a second to hear the low growl behind him – and less than that to turn and eep at lilac eyes boring into his. Oh great, he was sat on the row below Yang. But why was she giving him such evils?

"H-Hey," Ruby greeted awkwardly from his right.

"Oh, Ruby. Hi!"

That genius. Oobleck was an absolute mastermind. Oobleck hadn't just been catching his attention and diffusing his shock before people could get suspicious. He'd also been manoeuvring Jaune into a position to sit him down next to Ruby, and at a time when no one else could interfere. His own team were further to the side, where Ren was being chatted to by Nora. He couldn't move to sit by them however, even if he was expected to, because Oobleck had made it clear to the class that he was sitting right next to Ruby.

An opportunity hidden in a simple telling-off by a teacher.

But would it be enough? His eyes flicked to Ruby next to him. Her eyes were low, her cheeks not red, but dusted with pink. It was obvious she was still awkward around him, and he could hardly blame her. He'd meant to come across as friendly, but had instead managed to look like a flirt. No, not even that. A flirt wasn't bad. He'd probably come across like a desperate first crush. His battered ego aside, it might be enough to scare her off.

 _I need to slow it down and let her calm down around me, show her I'm not going to say or do something stupid every time I'm near._ As frustratingly slow as it sounded, the best thing he could do was nothing. He'd sat next to her and said hello. It would probably be best to leave it there for now.

Besides, he had other things on his mind, too.

 _Oobleck is a professor at Beacon!? Why didn't he tell me?_ Or had he, and it had been missed? No, he was fairly sure this was just Oobleck not telling him. Had he always been a teacher at Beacon? _Probably not. He said he was the Director of Operations at the VSS, but I doubt he could do both that and this job at the same time. He must have decided to work at Beacon when the VSS became suspicious of Ozpin. It makes sense they'd send both younger students and adults to try and get close to him. Having a spy among his own staff would also be a huge advantage for them._

He hadn't been introduced as a new teacher, though, which meant Oobleck had worked at Beacon for some time. Was that a sign of just how long they'd been watching Ozpin?

More than that, had Oobleck always had the credentials to _be_ a teacher?

" _I didn't earn my PhD for fun, thank you very much."_

Not for fun… wait, had he gone and earned an entire PhD _just_ to make it easier to sneak into Beacon's employ? That was insane! The amount of work that must have taken, and on the _off-chance_ it worked and Ozpin decided to hire him…? It would have all been wasted if he hadn't passed the interview, or Ozpin just hired someone else first.

But considering the VSS was for the security of all of Vale, maybe that much effort, time and cost was considered worth the risk. This wasn't like anything he'd ever seen before. It was on an entirely different league, and there were hundreds of thousands of lives in the balance. Compared to that, asking a man to waste his time earning a doctorate was probably an insignificant thing.

Jaune felt dizzy and swayed in his seat, overwhelmed by the sheer amount of effort being put in. He'd never really thought of it that way, but every mistake he might make here really could cost an innocent person their life.

That was terrifying.

"Mr Arc," Oobleck said, voice fast-paced and light. "While I understand history can be emotive and shocking, I wasn't aware our current subject matter was enough to evoke such a reaction. You must be quite intimately involved in the events of the faunus war to look so. Am I right?"

Huh, what? Jaune looked about in shock, suddenly aware of all the eyes on him. "Uh…"

"You _were_ paying attention, I trust?"

"Of course," Jaune lied instantly – like any student would when asked that. He realised a second later just _who_ he was lying to, and cringed. "Uh, I mean-"

"Excellent, I'm glad to hear it! For a moment, I thought I'd lost you to daydreams."

Jaune laughed nervously. "I, uh, wouldn't do that, sir."

"Perfect, then you can of course answer the last question for me, can't you?"

"Question?"

Oobleck's eyebrow rose.

"I mean sure, the question, of course." He winced and looked around for help. On the other side of the room, Pyrrha tried to make some gesture with her hands, but without even knowing the question, it didn't make much sense.

"I'll repeat it again, not that you need it. During the faunus wars, General Lagune suffered crushing defeat at the battle of Fort Castle due to an oversight he made when judging his faunus opponents. What oversight was that? Naturally, I just described it a moment ago, so you will know the answer."

Some of the other students laughed between themselves, delighting in the misery of one of their peers. Great, so if he hadn't been thinking about Oobleck and the VSS, he would have been fine. He swallowed and lowered his head. "I'm sorry, sir, but-"

Something struck his foot under the table. It came from the side and was gentle, but enough to draw his attention towards Ruby. Her eyes wouldn't meet his, but she'd pushed a corner of her text book towards him suggestively. It was covered in doodles, showing she'd paid as little attention as him, but right there, on the corner, was a hastily written message.

"Night vision…?"

"Is that a question, Mr Arc, or the answer?"

"It's the answer, sir."

Oobleck watched him for a second, and a bead of sweat ran down Jaune's forehead. Eventually, the man adjusted his glasses and turned away. "Hm, that is correct. General Lagune forgot that his faunus opponents had perfect night vision, and as such did not realise they would almost assuredly attack under the cover of night. This lack of information cost him his life, and also the lives of many in his army." Oobleck shook his head. "It is a reminder to us all that force and skill is nothing without the intelligence and experience to back it up. Perhaps had the General paid more attention in class, history would remember him more fondly."

A valuable lesson, and also a pretty accurate one given that Oobleck was a member of the VSS. Of course he'd value information over everything else. That was what they did. Jaune turned his head to the side and mouthed a silent `thank you` to Ruby.

She flushed and looked away, but there was a tiny smile there.

"It should also be a reminder to yourselves to listen in class," Oobleck went on. "And perhaps next time, Mr Arc, you'll be able to recount the answer to me directly, rather than from Miss Rose's notebook."

"Erk!"

"Eep!" Ruby jumped as well.

"Do see me after class, Mr Arc. And Miss Rose, while it speaks well of your willingness to help a peer, you might remember to let them make and learn from their mistakes, especially when all that is on the line is a simple detention."

"Y-Yes, sir," Ruby whimpered.

"Very good, and well done on knowing the answer, my dear." Oobleck looked to Jaune for a second, during which he quailed. A harsh laugh from further behind and above him caught the teacher's attention, however. "Is there something that amuses you, Mr Winchester?"

"Not at all." The large teen said. "Just thinking how the faunus had to resort to dirty tricks is all."

"There is no such thing as a dirty trick in war. Each side must make use of every advantage they have, be those given by nature, or orchestrated by tactical decisions and strategy."

"But if it were humans against humans, it would have been different!"

"Indeed. Are you suggesting that faunus are inherently superior to humans, then?"

Several of the faunus students in the classroom laughed, and Jaune noticed the large teen sneer at them. His teammates did so as well, though whether that was by choice or they just felt they had to, he wasn't sure. Jaune noticed Blake glaring, but that was hardly odd. Pyrrha and Ren were, too.

"Well, superior in that it's easier to train animals, maybe."

Oobleck looked disappointed. "You are not the most open-minded of people, are you, Mr Winchester?"

"Hey, I'm open minded. I love animals. I even have a pet dog back home."

Someone slammed a fist down on their desk, but Oobleck beat them to it before anything could happen. "That is quite enough, Mr Winchester. You can see me after class as well."

"Why? I didn't get the question wrong."

"If you need me to explain why, then perhaps you need remedial lessons. Enough arguing. Let us move on."

Oobleck turned away, letting them know the discussion was over, and he went back to the board to continue his lecture on the faunus war. Jaune kept his eyes on Cardin a little longer than was wise, and so caught the frustrated glare he sent Jaune's way. _What did I do to annoy you? You're the one who decided to speak up like that._

As always, the logic of people like him was impenetrable.

Jaune sighed and slumped into his seat. Well… this hadn't exactly gone to plan.

/-/

"I'll be okay," Jaune said to Blake once the lesson was over. She and the rest of the team had come over to him as he waited outside, and they'd all offered to wait until he'd been chewed out. "I doubt anything bad is going to happen, so you don't need to wait for me. I appreciate the thought, though."

"You're sure?" Pyrrha asked. "We don't mind."

"I'm quite hungry, actually…"

"Blake!"

The black-haired girl rolled her eyes at the rebuke, and didn't look even slightly apologetic. She shot Pyrrha a look, but then looked to him. "As he says, nothing is going to happen here. It's the first lesson, and he didn't pay attention. No one is going to expel him, and I doubt he would even get detention. Doctor Oobleck just wants to make an example of someone."

"An example?"

"To teach me not to make the same mistake," Jaune finished. "Well, that or to teach everyone else to pay attention."

Blake nodded.

"Yeah, it's fine. I'm not upset, and you three should head off and get some food."

"Still, it doesn't feel right to leave you like this…"

"Not even when he's asking us to?"

Pyrrha sighed and frowned at Blake. "You're his partner. The least you could do is _pretend_ you're willing to stay behind and wait for him."

"Jaune doesn't want me to, and I happen to see the logic in his decision," Blake said. She turned to him. "If you want me to wait for you, I will. Say the word."

Jaune shrugged. "There's no point…"

"Exactly. If he were badly injured, I would." She stared at Pyrrha until the taller girl backed down. "We'll collect some food for you and bring it back to the dorm room. We can do that, at least."

"Thanks, Blake. I appreciate it."

The door behind them opened, and Jaune had no warning before the hulking figure of Cardin Winchester surged out, his face set in a twisted frown. He saw Jaune before him, and his lips perked up – right about the time he swung his shoulder `accidentally` in a wide arc, crashing against him.

Jaune stepped back instinctively, heart beating in his chest as he distributed his weight and took the blow just like how Oobleck had taught him to. He staggered a bit, but didn't fall, and didn't get knocked back into the wall like Cardin no doubt hoped. The cocky sneer vanished.

"Out of the way, idiot."

Jaune stepped aside to let him pass, and quickly became aware of how he'd just set himself up as a target. If he'd let himself be knocked back, Cardin probably would have moved on with a laugh. Now, he'd fought back – or at least that was how the bully would see it.

"He's quite the character," Ren said.

"It's maybe too soon to make such judgements, but I'm not sure I like him." Pyrrha sounded almost upset with her own words, but her eyes were quite sharp as she watched Cardin storm away. "How childish of him to take out his frustration on you."

"People are like that at times," Blake whispered. She looked to Jaune and smiled – and for once, it was an honest one. "Nice block there. You reacted quickly."

He winced. He probably shouldn't have, but it was too sudden and he'd reacted on instinct. "Lucky for me, I guess. Can't help but think I've made my first enemy, though."

"First? What about the blonde girl behind you in class?"

"Second," he winced, thinking of Yang. "Ugh, I'm not doing very well at this, am I?"

"Two enemies in as many days. It's an impressive accomplishment for sure," Ren's chuckle told them it was in jest. "Still, we'd best leave before we distract you from Doctor Oobleck. Good luck, Jaune."

"We'll see you later," Pyrrha said, waving.

Blake didn't say anything at all, but nodded with a pleased smile. If anything, she just seemed happy he'd stood up to Cardin.

 _Which I didn't even so,_ he thought. _I didn't want to draw attention at all, but I seem to be doing it all the time. Ugh, this is ridiculous. Back home, most people seemed to ignore me in school. How have I messed things up so badly?_

"Mr Arc, are you coming in, or do you intend to ward off evil spirits in my hallway?"

"Huh?"

"A gargoyle, Mr Arc." Oobleck sighed. "Never mind. Come in and close the door behind you."

Jaune did so, and moved into the classroom towards the man's desk. He opened his mouth to speak, but Oobleck shook his head subtly. Jaune caught the message. "You wanted to speak to me, sir? I'm sorry for not paying attention in class. My mind wandered."

"I trust that it will not again, my boy?"

"It won't, sir."

"I'm glad to hear it." Oobleck stood from his seat and drained his coffee. "I'll let you off without a punishment this time, but in return you must do me a small favour. I need a little help photocopying some pages for a lesson tomorrow. Come help me with that, and I'll let the issue go."

It was an odd request, but off enough to catch his interest. Jaune nodded, and then followed the man out of the classroom and towards a staff area. He earned a few odd looks as he stood beside one of the photocopiers and used it, and Miss Goodwitch even paused to ask what he was doing. A quick explanation from Oobleck handled it, however, and the woman left once she was happy with it.

It took ten minutes for them to copy everything, and Jaune carried a stack of pages in his arms as he followed Oobleck back to his office. Once they were inside, Oobleck closed the door and gestured to his personal desk.

"Place the pages on there, Jaune. I'll make use of them at some point."

It was the use of his name that clued him into the change in demeanour, well, that and the fact Oobleck's speech had gone from rapid and airy, to a more focused, calmer tone. He put the pages down and turned to the man. "Is it safe to talk here?"

"This is my personal office, and I've spent a long time ensuring it is free from intrusion and bugs." Oobleck sat behind his desk and tapped the wood. "I even installed something of a dampener in here that oscillates some low-tone frequencies when I activate it. Even if someone were to listen at the door, it would be difficult – but not impossible – to listen in." The man smiled. "Combined with my _other_ contingencies, we shall be fine so long as we don't start shouting at one another across the room." Oobleck leaned back and reached under his desk. When he came back up, it was with a bottle of bourbon and two glasses – just like he had back in the VSS HQ. "You made it through initiation, Jaune. I believe something of a celebration is in order. Congratulations."

"I'm not sure I deserve any praise," he said, but took the drink nonetheless. It was as strong as the last time, but somehow tasted a little nicer. Maybe he was just getting used to it. "I'm not exactly any closer to the goal of making Ruby trust me. If anything, I'm going in the wrong direction."

"Is that how you see it?"

"Hm?" Jaune looked up. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, nothing…" Oobleck chuckled to himself, obviously amused. "I'm just reminded that you are much closer to the young and oblivious student we want to portray you as, than the secret agent you actually are. That's all."

There was both an insult and a compliment in there, wasn't there? Jaune tried to frown at his superior, but it came out more like a pout.

"You're doing well enough, Jaune, and it's only been two days. Two days, I may remind you, out of a potential four years. If you'd achieved victory so soon, you'd be lauded as one of the greatest Agents to ever pass through our organisation." Oobleck's glass clinked against the woodwork as he leaned forward. "Do calm down a little. There's no need to rush things."

"Sorry…" Jaune flushed a little, but took a drink to calm himself down. "I guess I just wanted to do well."

"That's hardly something to apologise for now, is it? Either way, I don't want you burning yourself out so soon, nor stressing over every little thing that goes wrong. If you are having any difficulty, come to me. I am more than willing to help you."

That brought Jaune's attention back to what was important, and his eyes widened. "Oh yeah! What are you doing here, anyway?"

"Is that not obvious?"

"It is," he said. "I mean, since when have you been here, and why are you getting in touch with me? I know you're probably doing your own thing around Ozpin, but isn't it dangerous to speak to me so soon?"

"It could have been, yes, but you provided me so convenient an opening, I couldn't resist." Oobleck nodded at him, seemingly impressed. "Good work on that one. Of course, Mr Winchester also helped cover for you, whether he intended to or not."

"Uh, that guy. What was his problem anyway?"

"Racism, I assume." Oobleck sighed. "My disdain for that is not a part of my act, either. Given our clandestine operations and the natural advantages faunus have, several of my colleagues are as such. I personally have no problem with them, and actually find it quite frustrating that anyone would." He quaffed his drink and poured himself some more. "We have enough problems with the Grimm and rival Kingdoms without petty discrimination coming into the mix. Bad enough the White Fang keep us busy, but the last thing I need is a student like him causing me problems." Oobleck paused, and then smiled. "Not that it's any problem you need concern yourself with. Don't worry, I'm just venting."

"You do sound pretty stressed…"

"We don't get much sleep on the night before your initiation, and then I was out in the forest all day keeping an eye on weaker students. I then had to come back last night and do some work for the VSS. Balancing two jobs like this isn't easy."

"How do you manage it?" Jaune asked. When Oobleck raised an eyebrow, he elaborated. "I'm going to have to do the same thing at times, aren't I? I'm both a student and a spy."

"That's true, though your workload is far less than mine. You have every day from four in the afternoon off. With regards to myself, I simply outsource much of my work to people in the organisation. They are aware of my mission, or at least where I am, so it's not too hard to leave it to some trusted individuals. There is a chain of command for such things. I'm still consulted on larger decisions, of course – but they can handle my day-to-day affairs." Oobleck tapped his desk. "Right now, being here at Beacon is more important, and that counts for both of us."

"Understood, sir. What do you need me to do?"

"For now, nothing."

Jaune wasn't sure what to say.

"You're doing well enough at the moment, but I thought it important to make contact. Your actions in class today were a good excuse, but an even better opportunity. It's clear you don't know your history."

"I… well, I wasn't always the best student back home, but I know what you taught me in the VSS."

"That might do for a while, but what I mean is that I shall provide you with extra-curricular lessons. When you return to your team, you should feel free to let them know. I would say every weekday for an hour or two after your classes end. We'll say six until eight, that way you will have an hour for food and time with your friends."

It sounded like an eternal detention, but Jaune nodded either way. "Will it just be history we focus on?"

"No." Oobleck smiled. "We shall continue your training as an Agent as well."

"Wouldn't it be best for me to bring my sword, then?"

"I won't be helping you with that. Remember what I said before, Rat, I do not want you to court suspicion by suddenly improving with your sword and shield. How you fight as an Agent should be different to how you fight as a student. That will be important to allay suspicion." Oobleck saw his distressed expression and sighed. "There are other ways to improve in that, Jaune. Why not ask your teammates to spar with you, or to help you themselves?"

Jaune sighed but didn't disagree. It made sense, and he _did_ need to sort things out between his team at some point. "What about Ruby?" he asked.

"Continue as you are, I'd say."

"When I'm already messing things up this bad?"

Oobleck smiled coyly. "I'd say you're headed in the right direction."

"I've convinced her I'm a stalker!"

"Then the only way is up, right?" He laughed when Jaune ducked his head and grumbled. "Seriously, though, I'd advise you not to focus so much on your central mission just yet. Before anything, you need to make sure you can remain here at Beacon, so that should make survival your main goal, both physical and academic survival. Strengthen your mind and body, and then strengthen the bonds you share with your teammates, too."

"Is that safe? I have so many secrets to keep."

"You have one, and it shouldn't weigh you down. Every man, woman and child has secrets, be they crimes committed in the past, or embarrassing habits they don't want others to know. Some are serious, others less so, but if you believe yourself alone in having something you want to keep hidden, then think again. I'd hazard your teammates have their own hidden demons." Oobleck finished his drink, but this time didn't bother to pour another. He put the glass away, and the bottle, too. "One piece of advice, however. If you wish to hear it?"

Jaune finished his own drink and nodded. "I'm listening."

"Do not allow your job to consume all of you. Your teammates will have secrets, and there may be times when you sense they are lying. In our kind of work, it can be… difficult to leave such things alone. You are trained to notice them, and often paranoid enough to make mountains from molehills. This can ruin friendships however, and as much a spy as you are, you are human first. You will need some comfortable ground you can relax in, friends that you can enjoy your time with outside of work." Oobleck met his eyes, just to make the message clear. "Do not treat everyone as a suspect, or you'll find yourself alone sooner than you can imagine."

"Is that… is that spoken from experience?"

"To a degree. I've seen people do it and never realise it, and others realise too late. Either way, it's nothing more than advice. Ideally, I want an Agent who can survive for decades and retire peacefully. I do not want you to burn out and rot away."

Jaune understood, even if he wasn't sure whether it would ever have happened to him. Then again, it was just advice. Better to follow it now than tempt fate. "I'll be okay," he said, and then laughed awkwardly. "If anything, I've got my enemies to keep me on my toes, right?"

"Enemies?" Oobleck paused, but soon relaxed. "Ah, you mean Miss Xiao-Long? I _did_ notice her eyes on you. Quite the impression you've made there."

"And Cardin as well now," he complained. "Some spy I am, drawing everyone's attention to me."

"That is what makes you such an unlikely suspect, Rat. Regardless, I think it's time we called things off here. Remember to look frustrated as you leave, and to whine to your team a little for the constant tutoring sessions I'll be giving you."

Yeah… he had a feeling he could manage that without seeming suspicious. Two hours, every single weekday? Ugh, talk about a drag. Sure, it was for the best, but so was going to the dentist, and that sucked, too.

"I'll get back to my team, then. I need to try and sort things out there and show a little leadership."

"Are there problems? Whether it's a disguise or not, I _am_ still a teacher and can offer advice if necessary."

"Things aren't bad, but I'm just not sure how to set the team up. We talk, but we've got fairly different opinions and… well, I just wonder if I should be doing something to make everyone get along a little better."

"At times like this, I tend to feel a little honesty is the best option. Just speak your mind to them."

Not exactly what he'd been looking for, but okay, fine.

"Oh, and one other thing before you go." Oobleck called out, right as he was about to leave. "There has been a… diplomatic incident of sorts."

"An incident?"

"I can't tell you more, but it is something we will need to clean up. I want you to make your excuses tomorrow night and meet Magician and Vanguard in downtown Vale. Details of your rendezvous point will be forwarded to your Lapscroll, as well as a safehouse you can stop at to get into uniform."

Jaune's mouth was dry. He swallowed, but that didn't seem to help. "You want me to go on a mission already?"

"Want, no. Need, yes. It should be fairly simple… for now, at least." He sighed. "The details will be given to you tomorrow. For now, my advice is not to panic. I do not expect a combat situation, and even were there one, Vanguard alone would be enough to handle it. You will be an observer more than anything. Do not stress yourself and lose sleep over this."

He took a deep breath and let it go. Oobleck had warned him about this, of course. He'd said there might be missions, but that they would start as introductory ones. It was hard to calm down when presented with that, but he managed to at least dull the nerves with a quick breathing exercise.

"I'll be okay," he said after a long pause. "I'll manage it."

"I have faith that you will, Rat. Dismissed."

Jaune pulled a clumsy salute. "Sir."

/-/

Blake raised her head from the book she'd been reading and marked the page by folding the corner down. "You want us to do _what_?" she asked.

"Get to know one another," her partner said. He'd come back from his meeting with Doctor Oobleck less than twenty minutes ago, and polished off the food they'd brought for him. Once that was done, however, he'd squared himself up and faced them with a quasi-resolute expression. It was quasi because she could still tell he was a little nervous. "We're going to be on the same team for four years if all things go well, so we should get to know one another a little better, right?"

That was… not a bad suggestion, in a way. Blake didn't say anything, but wasn't able to give quite the enthusiastic response Pyrrha was. The redheaded girl praised the idea, and seemed almost enthused at the chance to make friends.

Blake was a little less certain.

 _It's not a bad decision from his point of view, and it's true we'll have to learn to trust one another sooner or later._ She could see the logic, and even praised it from a purely tactical angle. It was just that she wasn't so keen on the commitment she'd have to put forth. _I can't tell them about the White Fang, obviously, and probably not about my being a faunus. I can't tell them about home or my parents, either, since those both apply to the former._

Simply put, there was precious little she _could_ tell them, and that made her nervous. She could lie, yes, but that wouldn't really aid her partner's goal, and ultimately, she _did_ want his idea to work. The faster she could come to trust them, the faster she could ascertain whether it was safe to unveil her ears in front of them.

Lying wasn't quite as easy as most people thought, however, least of all when it came to fabricating a backstory. Of all the people she had to convince as well, it had to be Lien Ren, who seemed calm and analytical to a fault, and Jaune Arc, who she was convinced was smarter than he looked.

"You said yourself we have four years to get to know one another," Blake said. "What's the rush?"

"Teamwork, ease of living, actually being able to talk to one another…" He trailed off meaningfully, and Blake sighed when Ren and Pyrrha both nodded their heads. "I'm not saying we should interview one another or something, but we can at least break the ice, right?" He smiled at her, but it faltered when she didn't return it. "If you really don't want to, you don't have to."

Damn him and his faultless logic. Blake sighed.

What could she say? If she argued against the idea, she'd only draw attention to herself – and at the end of the day, it would be a good thing to get it over with. _I need to stop acting like I'm still in the White Fang anyway. There isn't an ambush around every corner, and I'd be paranoid to act like it. This is a new start. I suppose I might as well make the same effort they are._

"Okay, I'm fine with that." Blake said, rolling her eyes when Jaune smiled happily. "One question, however. Why bring this up now? You were trying to do it this morning, weren't you?"

He winced, but recovered quickly. "I was," he admitted. "As for why, I guess I just thought that we should. Ozpin made me the leader of the team, and I'm trying to act like it."

"And you think this is a leadership decision?"

Jaune shrugged. "Honestly, I'm not sure. I don't know what it means to be a leader, but I'm trying. If I make any mistakes, feel free to catch me on them and let me know. I could use the help."

Blake nodded, placing her book down behind her. Even if she would never say it out loud, she found herself a little impressed with his reasoning. It wasn't something Adam would have ever ordered, but everyone in the White Fang was united by a common cause. They didn't have that here, and she could appreciate her partner trying to provide it.

Just another sign of his polarising personality, really. She'd tried not to let it draw her attention, but it really was hard. Ever since she'd been on his team, he'd been nervous and awkward – though she knew that had nothing to do with her personally. He was nervous around the whole team. It was just the fact that he was somewhat outgoing in speech and action, if clumsy, but that when she'd confronted him in the Emerald Forest, he'd been the exact opposite.

It was interesting. Blake hated mysteries, but only because they caught her attention so much, she felt she _had_ to solve them. _Most people would call that loving mysteries, I imagine. Less so when I'm trying to blend in, however._

"I'll go first," Jaune said. "So, my name is Jaune Arc, and I was born outside of Vale in a frontier town called Ansel. I have seven sisters – yep, seven – but I'm the only one training to be a huntsman among them. I like games and comics, I fight with a sword and shield, and my goal is to become an awesome huntsman and protect the Kingdom from any and all threats."

Interesting, but not overly revealing. Blake categorised the things he'd said, but nothing stood out. Well, apart from the impressive number of siblings, that was. Goodness, she was the faunus – but it sounded like his mother had an entire litter.

"What next?" Pyrrha asked. "Should we do our own?"

"If you don't have any questions, I guess." Jaune scratched his cheek. "If you want to ask a question, how about one from each person?"

A question from each of them? Was he trying to set her up to- no, no. She shook her head. It really was hard to lose the paranoia and scepticism she'd gained under Adam. Jaune wasn't trying to trick her, just to let them interact a little. Questioning was conversation, which was one step short of actually chatting with one another. It was a clever trick, and she approved of it.

"I'll ask first if that's okay?" Pyrrha said. She waited for any complaints, and smiled when she received none. "Were either of your parents hunters before you, or are you the first in the family?"

"My Dad is a huntsman right now, but my Mom isn't. I always wanted him to train me, but he was usually busy with his own missions and stuff. He has to earn enough to feed an entire brood, so he spends a lot of time working."

Pyrrha nodded happily and gestured for Ren or her to continue. Blake made it clear she wasn't going to ask anything by looking to Ren.

"Do you have an attraction to that Ruby girl you sat with?" he asked.

Jaune's face went bright red.

Blake smirked. Oh my, quite the question there, and she definitely found the response amusing. Pyrrha giggled too, no doubt making up her own mind from how he'd reacted. It _was_ rather telling.

"N-No, that's a misunderstanding."

Sure… she'd pretend she believed that.

"N-Next question," Jaune stammered. He turned to her with an almost-pleading expression, not that it would make a difference.

Under the guise of dragging out his agony, she tapped her lips and hummed. In truth, she was trying to figure out how much she should push this. She _could_ ask why he'd acted like he did in initiation, or how he'd been able to find and track her movements so easily.

Could… but perhaps shouldn't. He hadn't shared that information willingly, and that might have hinted that he didn't want to. Maybe he felt ashamed, maybe it wasn't important, or maybe it was something he wanted to keep hidden until he trusted them more.

Just like her with her feline features.

If this was to be a new start, then she'd best act like it, and that meant allowing her partner – a man who she would need to trust with her life – to keep his secrets.

"What do you do on your Lapscroll each night?" she asked instead.

"I play video games," he replied. "Mostly RPG's and some FPS games. Nothing much."

Blake's eyes narrowed. The answer was too quick, and far too casual. He was lying. And now that she thought about it, he didn't tap the keys enough to be playing a game at all. He was reading… reading or watching.

 _No, stop being paranoid._

Blake remained silent through Ren and Pyrrha's introductions, apart from her questions, that was. For Ren, she asked him what his relationship with that Nora girl who had clung to him all day was, and received an answer that was even more mind-boggling than Jaune's. For Pyrrha, she'd asked why the girl was so shy if she was a professional athlete, and again, received a complicated – if believable – answer. Pyrrha simply felt more confident in her skills than she did her ability to hold a conversation.

The more amusing reveal had been that Jaune hadn't known.

"I figured you didn't know," Pyrrha giggled at his shocked expression. "I was actually looking for someone who didn't respond to me to be a partner. Everyone else kept giving me strange looks or trying to talk to me, but you ignored me entirely." Her cheeks flushed, and she laughed awkwardly. "I actually tried to find you in initiation, but Blake beat me to it."

"I hope I didn't disappoint," Ren said.

"Oh no, not at all. I didn't mean it like that!"

"Relax Pyrrha, I wasn't serious."

Blake watched Pyrrha relax, and then admonish her partner, not that Ren seemed overly bothered with it. So, Pyrrha had been looking for Jaune? She wasn't sure what she thought about that, though a part of her wouldn't have complained too much if she'd been assigned with Ren instead. It wasn't a preference, though, and Jaune was doing fine so far.

And that drew their attention to her, of course.

"My name is Blake Belladonna," she said slowly. Each piece of the story needed to be carefully considered and crafted, but she hadn't been idle while the others spoke. "I lived in a frontier town as well, though it was in Mistral. My hobbies are reading, and relaxing, though I do like music as well. I decided I wanted to be a huntress so that… so that I could change the way things are."

There. Enough truth to be easy to remember, but with subtle changes where they mattered. She waved her hand at them and prepared herself for the questions. If the themes were consistent, they ought to be fairly easy.

"What do you like to read?" Pyrrha asked.

Easy, but also cutting. "Romance stories," she said softly. "With a little dark fantasy mixed in."

She just about managed to keep her expression calm, but made a note to turn the covers backwards facing when she put them in the shelf. The titles of some of them were quite… telling. Maybe she should hide stationary in front of them, too – or put the really raunchy ones under her bed.

 _Oh Gods, I'm hiding porn under my bed. If Adam could see me now…_

"I saw your weapon briefly in initiation," Ren said. "It looked quite complicated. What is it?"

"It's called Gambol Shroud," she began. Knowing how the other members of the team fought was good information to share, and if she'd had it to hand, she'd have shown them. "It's not easy to explain, so maybe I'll show you when I get a chance. It's a variant ballistic chain scythe, but it might be easier to think of it as a handgun with an additional short-sword or cleaver attached by a strong ribbon. I can use them independently, swing it, or even use the ribbon to entrap or snare enemies."

"Sounds complicated," Jaune whispered.

"It is, but you get used to it." She shrugged. "I've seen stranger weapons here already. At least mine doesn't transform and change shape. That keeps things a little simpler, especially to maintain." There were a few switch-operated things to extend blades and such, but in terms of moving parts, it was nothing compared to Pyrrha's three-in-one weapon.

"And finally, my question," Jaune said.

Blake nodded to him, curious as to what he'd ask.

"You said you lived in a frontier town. What did your family do for a living? Where they huntsmen?"

A cautious question, but at least it wasn't a difficult one to find an answer for. "Neither of them were huntsmen," she said, knowing it would be easy to check their names if she claimed they were. "My mother looked after the house, but also helped around the town with things like sewing. My father worked in construction."

It wasn't exactly true, but he certainly _looked_ like someone who could do well in that industry. He could probably lift heavy beams all on his own.

"Is that it?" she asked.

"Sure, it was just to help pass the time and break the ice." Jaune sat back on his bed and let out a quick sigh. "We should probably spar with one another at some point, but I guess that can wait. I'll have to figure out times for that too, since I have those study lessons with Oobleck."

It was curious how he always referred to the teacher so casually.

"Either way," he went on, "we can figure that out tomorrow."

"And maybe you can sit next to Ruby again," Blake teased.

"I said it wasn't like that! Blaaake!"

She laughed and leaned back on her bed, drawing forth her book once more. Maybe they weren't a proper team yet, but it was only the second day, and he was right about one thing, it _had_ helped break the ice a little. Enough for her to tease him, at least.

Still, as he pulled out his Lapscroll and went back to using it, she couldn't help but notice how much he concentrated, and how little he typed or interacted with it.

So much for him playing video games.

/-/

Jaune sighed and tried to concentrate on the message he'd received about the next day's mission. It was hard, mostly because of all the new thoughts running around in his head. Well, more than that, it was what his brain was focusing on.

 _Oobleck warned me not to snag onto things my team says. They're my friends and teammates, not suspects. I need to focus on what's important; Ozpin._

It was hard, though.

What kind of builder's daughter from a poor frontier town could afford something as obviously expensive as a variant ballistic chain scythe? And where would she have ever learned to use such a thing?

* * *

 **There we go for the chapter, and a secret mission ahead. Oobleck is, of course, still in his role as a teacher, and will be tutoring Rat under the guise of history lessons. Meanwhile, Jaune's doing his best to be the leader Ozpin wants him to be.**

 **How can that go wrong, huh?**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 3rd September**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	7. Chapter 7

**Here we go.**

* * *

 **Chapter 7**

* * *

Butcher's street was a small and mostly abandoned road buried deep within the residential sector of Vale. Once-upon-a-time it might have been called that because it had the main butcher's shop there or something, but time and expansion had rendered that a moot point, and now it gave way to houses and homes with not a storefront in sight. Several of those homes were boarded up and abandoned, and like many houses which had been, the windows had been smashed by bored youths with rocks.

It was one of those houses Jaune awkwardly made his way up to. He paused at the entrance and looked around, but any passers-by made conscious effort not to meet his eyes. Most of them had hands in their pockets and heads pointed down. Butcher's street wasn't a nice neighbourhood. He could tell that already.

The wooden board on the entrance gave way easily, already weak and more leaning on the door than anything else. As he entered, the rank scent of vomit and alcohol assailed his nostrils, and he wondered if it had been taken over by some homeless people. The fire pit and empty cans said otherwise, as did the lack of any life inside. More likely young kids who should have known better were using it to drink and do drugs in, and leaving it in a state afterwards. Jaune shook his head and stepped inside, balancing the wooden slat behind him.

His feet took him past ruined furniture and slashed couches, down to a door that would have led into a cellar. It was thick wood reinforced with metal, and looked to have several dents in it where people's curiosity had gotten the better of them. None had broken in, however. Next to it was a keypad with a code lock. They weren't unusual in Vale houses, though mostly on safe locks and posher residences. This one had a smashed screen and some of the wiring had been pulled out, probably by some enterprising thief who figured he could hack into it.

Jaune ignored it entirely. His finger touched the brick below it, and then dipped a little lower. One, two, three, four – the fifth brick. That was what the message had said. Kneeling down, he pushed in one side of it, and was rewarded as it rotated and came loose. He pulled it out with a scraping noise and peered inside.

A clean, fully functioning code lock faced him.

"Just like they said… I guess this place held out after all."

The door clicked open when he entered the code, and then faced him with a stronger – far less subtle door. It was solid steel and brand new, with a scanner placed in the middle. By this point, someone would have guessed something was up, but it looked like no one had made it this far. With a shrug, Jaune pressed his palm against the scanner and waited for the machine to read him.

" _Access granted. Welcome, Agent."_

The door slid open, and Jaune was instantly faced with a black mask.

"Glad you could make it," Oobleck said, his voice a little tinny from coming out the mask's speakers. "Magician and Vanguard already inside, but safehouses like this are dotted throughout Vale. There are lockers with equipment to the side there. Suit up and meet us in the main room for the briefing."

Jaune glanced to the indicated lockers and then back to Oobleck. "Aren't you going to tell me what this is all about?"

"In the briefing, Rat." Oobleck stepped away, but paused to turn back. "You _did_ make an excuse to your team for your absence, correct?"

"I told them my sisters had come to Vale to take me clubbing as celebration for passing initiation."

"A good enough excuse, but you'll need to be careful to keep such a facade. It wouldn't do for you to claim you enjoy such activities and then never do it again. You might even need to take your team out clubbing once or twice just to keep your cover."

He knew what Oobleck meant, but the thought of Blake and Ren wanting to go out to a nightclub didn't quite work in his head, and even Pyrrha would stand out like a sore thumb – especially since she didn't want to be overly recognised as famous. "Yeah… I don't think that'll be a problem. My team aren't exactly the most sociable of people."

Oobleck chuckled. "Perhaps not. Very well. Get ready and meet us inside."

Jaune nodded and moved over to the lockers as Oobleck departed. There was already one with his name on it, or at least his irritating codename. He was relieved they hadn't seen the need to draw a picture as well. To his left was Magician's, and beyond that Vanguard's – along with several other lockers that filled the room. There had to be at least thirty in total, which was both more and less than he'd expected.

 _Maybe this just means there are thirty agents active in Vale. There are probably more abroad, and others that work in roles that wouldn't require safehouse equipment._

The codenames were varied, from card titles like Jack and King, to mythical creatures like Phoenix. There was even one called Wolf, who had obviously had a luckier time with the naming than Jaune had. Either way, he only knew Vanguard and Magician, and since there was just the code names, it wasn't like the lockers helped give him any clues as to their identities. With a shrug, he opened his up by pressing his thumb against the code lock, and quickly changed into the dark uniform. The mask fit snugly over his face, and quickly sealed itself in place. There was a light hiss as the vents opened and fresh air wafted in.

A second later, it felt as natural and unobtrusive as a pair of sunglasses. They really were amazing things.

Vanguard looked up as Jaune entered the room. His mask gave nothing away, though yet again Jaune wondered at the strange upside-down triangles under his eye slit. "Well look who scurried out of his hole. Nice of you to join us, Rat."

"Be nice," Magician said, punching the larger man's arm. Her mask turned in his direction, and he could almost imagine a smile in the way she tilted her head. "It's good to see you again. You seem to be fitting into Beacon fairly well."

"You've seen me?"

"Oh, of course."

"The Director asked us to keep an eye on you," Vanguard said, gesturing to Oobleck. "Well, he asked Magician."

"I asked you, too," Oobleck said.

Vanguard shrugged helplessly.

"As stubborn as ever… no matter." Oobleck shook his head and turned to a screen behind him. He pressed a button on a remote and turned it on. "Take a seat, Rat. We'll begin the briefing now."

"It's just the three of us?" Jaune asked, sitting down next to Magician.

"This is an introductory mission for you, so a larger group seemed like a good way to keep you out of trouble."

This was a large group? He'd kind of meant it the other way around, and now felt even more nervous for the future. Were they going to send him out on solo missions? "It's the four of us, then?"

"Four? Oh no, it will be the three of you."

"The old man needs to rest his bones," Vanguard said.

"The old man," Oobleck echoed, "has his own mission in store. It relates to this one, but deals with a far less excitable aspect of it – namely a diplomatic meeting." He looked to Vanguard. "If you want, I'm not against swapping roles."

"No, no, it's fine…" Vanguard sounded almost sick. "I hate diplomatic missions."

"I thought so. Anyway, if the three of you can remain silent for a moment, I'll explain the situation and why I've called you here today. To note, this mission is not related to your assigned tasks at Beacon, but as the closest team, you're all we have to work with. It's nonetheless important to not only Vale, but Atlas as well."

"They're involved?" Vanguard asked, leaning forward. "Are we working alongside the ASF?"

"Not today, and not tomorrow either if we're fortunate. We're dealing with a rather familiar problem here, and I'd rather they not get involved."

"They've made a mess and need us to clean it up, don't they?"

"I _did_ say it was a familiar problem," Oobleck laughed. "I'll explain for the sake of Rat, since you're not familiar with them. I've mentioned before how the ASF are a relatively new organisation after the revolution that changed Mantle to Atlas. Their technology and resources are far greater than ours, but when it comes to the skill and expertise of individual Agents, none can compare with ourselves."

"We're the oldest and the ones with the longest history," Magician explained. "It makes sense that we know better how to train Agents. The ASF aren't _bad_ at what they do, and some of them are actually quite skilled. It's just that the average over there is lower than it is here."

"Which means we're forever mopping up their mistakes," Vanguard groused. "What is it this time?"

Oobleck pushed a button and brought a new image onto the screen. It was a schematic of some kind of large machine, and if the silhouette of a man by its feet was any indication, it was huge.

"This is Atlas' new prototype anti-Grimm weapon – the Paladin."

Vanguard snorted.

"The pretentious name aside, it is a bipedal combat machine suited to movement over rough any and all terrain, and is even capable of short bursts of flight to let it cross rivers and uneven ground. It has numerous armaments, or it _will_ when it's completed. This is merely the chassis and frame, which would be capable of movement, but has no weapons attached."

"Looks dangerous," Vanguard said.

"It is. From the limited information the ASF were willing to provide, its specifications are far beyond anything we here in Vale can produce. It could revolutionise the way people fight against the Grimm."

"Then what's the problem?"

"It has been stolen by the White Fang."

Magician and Vanguard groaned. It wasn't a distressed sound, nor a frightened one. If anything, it sounded more exasperated… as if it were something they'd half-expected, yet hoped wouldn't be the case.

"Isn't that bad?" Jaune asked, far more worried. "I mean, if it's that powerful, the White Fang could cause real damage with it."

"Yes, and that is why we need to move quickly." Oobleck turned to the screen again and this time changed it to an image of a flaming train wreck. "The Paladin was advertised as being shipped by sea, with four different military containers sent out. In truth, this was a ruse, and the prototype was being transported by rail. That it was attacked and the ships were not has led the ASF to believe there are spies within the Atlas military."

"Say it isn't so!" Vanguard cried sarcastically.

" _More_ spies than expected," Oobleck amended. "Obviously, they know they have spies in their ranks, but they never expected that the White Fang would be involved. Even so, the only ones who knew of this were particularly high up in the chain of command, which has made this a bit of a problem for Atlas. There is a lot of blame being thrown around at the moment, and things could get a lot worse if the White Fang start to use these things – especially since intel suggests they've brought them to Vale."

Magician sighed. "I can already see the headlines; Killer Atlas robot massacres Vale citizens. The words `diplomatic incident` don't even begin to cover this."

"Quite… that is why the ASF have requested _we_ get involved. Their ranks are already compromised, so they fear acting against the White Fang will push them into hiding, and with the risks involved, they can't afford to mess this up."

"And they came to the professionals," Vanguard said. "And if _we_ mess it up, we're the ones to take the fall."

"Atlas would still come out of this badly. It would be best for both sides if the machine could be retrieved without ever seeing the light of day."

Jaune nodded, but couldn't quite hide the panic growing inside of him. For an introductory mission, this didn't sound quite as easy and painless as he'd imagined. The White Fang were terrorists, for crying out loud, and they'd stolen some kind of killer robot. "Is this really the kind of first mission I should be sent on?" he asked. Everyone turned to look at him and he squirmed under their combined gazes. "I'm not saying I won't, or it's not important. It's just that I'm a rookie. Isn't this too much to trust me with? I haven't even really fought against any people before."

"This _is_ an introductory mission, Rat." Oobleck sounded bemused. "You won't be going in to fight these people."

"We won't?"

"We don't even know where they are," Magician said, touching his arm lightly. "Even if we did, we have no idea where the Paladin is being kept, and no means to transport it away. We gather information before enacting a combat mission. We don't go in blind."

"Magician is correct," Oobleck said. "Your mission here is to gather intel and scout out a potential storage unit for this. Even if you should see the Paladin, you will return to report it. You can't exactly carry it out, and having it walk through the streets of Vale would somewhat defeat the purpose of the mission."

"Killer Atlas robot walks through Vale streets," Vanguard mocked. "That's still a diplomatic incident. The big thing Atlas want to keep hidden is that they lost it in the first place. Do you want to imagine the strongest military in the world losing high tech experimental weaponry to supremacist terrorists?"

No, he didn't – and the fact that was _exactly_ what had happened left him feeling a little ill. Were Atlas really that carless? Probably not… this had caught them off-guard, and like Oobleck said, they'd taken all sorts of precautions with the movement of it. The White Fang only found out because of a traitor in their midst.

"The mission is simply to scout a location one of our agents within the White Fang has revealed to us, and ascertain whether the machine is there – or whether it could potentially be there in the future. Ideally, no combat would occur."

"We have spies in the White Fang?"

Vanguard and Magician stared at him, and he could just _feel_ their expressions.

"Rat… we're a spy agency," Oobleck said kindly.

"Oh yeah… right…"

"Moving on, the long-term goals of the operation will be to mount a combat mission to reclaim the Paladin prototype and ship it back to a storage warehouse we have prepared for it. The ASF will then be contacted, and arrangements for it to be shipped back to Atlas can be implemented."

"After our engineers look it over, right?" Vanguard asked.

Oobleck nodded. "Naturally…"

"Wait, what?" Jaune looked up, eyes wide. "We're going to steal Atlas' technology?"

"Not at all," Oobleck said. "That would be a poor way to repay our allies. We're going to recover their stolen technology and give it back to them."

"And if we take a few pictures of the internals and poke around, it's only because we want to make sure the White Fang didn't steal any of the important parts," Vanguard nodded, insincerity dripping from his voice. "We're doing it for _them_."

The two spies laughed.

Jaune was less amused. "How is this okay, though? They're our allies. Won't they get angry if we start doing things like this to what is a prototype weapon?"

"They might, but they really ought to have kept a better eye on it in the first place." Oobleck crossed his arms. "Make no mistake, Rat. We are doing Atlas and the ASF a _huge_ favour here. The Council hasn't even been made aware of the Paladin's theft, and if they found out, it would mean a huge political headache for Atlas, and potentially repercussions between our Kingdoms. It would be in our best interests to avoid that, but we're not risking our lives and stretching ourselves thin for the ASF without _some_ kind of benefit to us."

"If it helps any, I'm sure they would expect no less of us," Magician whispered. "In our shoes, they would do the same, and I expect they already know we'll copy aspects of it. Like the Director said, this could revolutionise the war against the Grimm. Our knowing how to produce these could save the lives of Valean soldiers."

"I guess… but wouldn't Atlas share it with us anyway once it was complete?"

"Unlikely. They might sell us some units, but at an incredible mark-up, and even then, in low numbers. They'd also keep the best units for themselves."

"Why? We're all on the same side here. We're all fighting against the Grimm!"

"We won't be when the war happens," Vanguard said.

"War!?" Jaune leapt up. "What war?"

"The next war."

"I haven't heard anything about a war!" He paused, realising who he was talking to. If there _were_ rumours of war, the general public would be kept unknowing – and probably by the VSS. He turned to Oobleck. "Is there a war? Are we going to war?"

"There is no war," Oobleck said. "The four Kingdoms are currently focused on the Grimm threat, which has kept wars to a minimum."

"Then what war did he mean?"

"The next war," Vanguard repeated. "There isn't one in the works now, but there will be at some point. There always is. What do you think would happen if all the Grimm in the world were finally defeated?"

"We'd be at peace," Jaune said.

"For a little bit, sure. The cities would expand and claim land lost to the Grimm, not to mention all the rich and untapped resources out there. Soon, Remnant would be split in four – or three," he added. "Vacuo is a joke, after all. Either way, there'd be conflict sooner or later, and it's not in Atlas' best interests to let another Kingdom, even an ally, have access to its top tier weapons. They're just thinking of the future."

"A future where they invade us?" Jaune asked. "That's ridiculous. We should all be working together against the Grimm, not be planning hypothetical wars if they're ever destroyed. Is this why nothing ever gets done? Is this why the Grimm still exist at all?"

"Who knows?" Vanguard shrugged. "Maybe it is, or maybe it isn't. That's not our problem."

"Then what is…?"

It wasn't Vanguard who answered, but Oobleck – and his voice was unimaginably stern. "The protection of Vale, Rat. We are the VSS, and our responsibility is to act in the best interests of our Kingdom, as is the responsibility of the ASF to work for theirs. We are allied and help one another, but it is Vale that comes first. Right now, it's in the best interests of Vale to keep this new weapon out of the White Fang's hands. After that, it'll be in the best interests of our military to know how to produce our own."

"Won't Atlas know it was us who were responsible for this?"

"They will. They'll simmer and bluster, and ambassadors will threaten action and shout at one another. In the end, however, there is little else they can do. They lost the machine to terrorists." Oobleck waved his hand. "As far as we're concerned, that means it's on the market. Is that explanation understood, Rat?"

"Yes, sir." Jaune sat down and remained silent, even if inside, his mind whirred. They were essentially going to steal what was already stolen property, and then take it apart to access its secrets. It was dishonourable in the extreme, especially since they were allies – but there was little he could do about it.

They were right… it _would_ save lives, and if Atlas really intended to keep it away from and not let them use it against the Grimm, then they deserved to lose it. People were being killed out there, and his team back in Beacon were going to be risking their lives against the Grimm in the future. If they got hurt, and it was because Atlas refused to make the Paladins readily available to all the Kingdoms, then he would have hated them forever.

He didn't like it… but he could understand where Oobleck was coming from.

 _Either way, I don't have to like it, do I? All I need to do is stay quiet and follow orders. The only reason I'm here at all is so that they can introduce me to what missions are like._

At least it would be a nice and simple one to start with…

/-/

When it came to how they'd get across Vale dressed in the most suspicious manner possible, Jaune had expected something like disguises, or maybe an underground network of tunnels. What he hadn't expected was a car, even if it had tinted windows that kept them from view. They were still three masked people driving down a busy road laden with weapons.

Subtle, it was not, but maybe that was the point. Who would expect the normal-looking car on a busy road?

"Are you sure you're okay with this, Rat?" Magician asked. She was sat in the backseat with him, leaving the passenger seat empty as Vanguard drove. Her voice was soft but still unfamiliar. He was fairly sure he hadn't met her at Beacon. Then again, she could have been changing it, or the mask could be modulating the tone in some way. "You seemed rather upset back in briefing."

"I wasn't upset," he said. "At last not at what we're doing. I guess I'm just disappointed people would think like that, or how you say Atlas would think. Aren't we all in it together against the Grimm?"

"It's not quite so bad. We _are_ working together, and Atlas are one of the biggest suppliers of military equipment for huntsmen and soldiers. It's not like they're _entirely_ keeping things secret to give themselves an edge…"

"Just that they're doing it a little bit?"

"It's in their best interests, Rat. If Atlas is seen as being safer than the other Kingdoms, then wealthy and powerful people will prefer to live there, which means more taxation. Similarly, if the people feel protected, then they are happier." She sighed and looked out the window towards passing traffic and a skyline of tall buildings. "It's not that they want to see us struggle… they just want to make sure they're seen as being better than us. I truly believe if we were ever in danger from the Grimm, they would mobilise to help us in a heartbeat."

But anything less than that would be their problem. Jaune understood, even if he didn't like it. It sounded like it was fairly common, however, and they were blatantly doing the same here if they intended to copy the Paladin's schematics. Come to think of it, the VSS had probably demanded even more from Atlas. The secrets of the Paladin were something they'd _take_ , but the ASF would still have to give them some kind of reward or payment for services rendered.

That was probably Oobleck's business, and might even have been the diplomatic mission he'd spoken about. Jaune shook his head and turned back to Magician. "I'll be fine, don't worry. I just need to get used to this, I guess."

"I'm sure you will in time, Rat. We were all rookies once."

"Speak for yourself," Vanguard called from up front. "Get ready, you two. We're approaching the operation zone."

"What's the plan?" Magician asked, voice suddenly a lot sterner.

"We'll park the car in an alley several blocks away and desert it. We move in on foot, but stick to rooftops where possible. The warehouse we've been given is by the docks, but I doubt it'll be here."

"What makes you say that?" Jaune asked.

"If they were going to ship it in or out, the docks would be an easy place to store it," Vanguard explained. "Problem is, the docks are too active, and this isn't exactly an easy thing to hide. Vale gets most of its dust shipments by sea and rail, so unless they want to run the risk of interference, the White Fang wouldn't keep something so precious there."

"Of course, it could also be a double-bluff," Magician said. "Hence why we need to investigate it."

Vanguard hummed his agreement.

"What about the spy we have inside?" Jaune asked. "Do we need to be careful not to hurt them?"

"We don't know who it is, and they could be compromised if we acted differently around them anyway. If we come across them, they'll raise the alarm to keep their cover, and we need to treat them like we would anyone else." Vanguard pulled the car off the road and down an empty street. "That means we disable them just like we would any other White Fang."

"Wouldn't that get them captured?"

"We're not here to take prisoners, Rat."

Jaune swallowed nervously.

"We're not here to kill, either," Magician interrupted, touching his arm. "Bodies are evidence, and that would cause panic among the populace. While we _can_ kill them, we'll be better off incapacitating them – or ideally not being detected at all."

"Yeah, ideally…" Vanguard grunted. "Let's see how that goes."

"Don't be so cynical, Van."

"I prefer the term, realistic. As for you, Rat, follow our instructions and stick behind us. You're shadowing us on this one, so don't do anything to stand out."

"I get it. I'll stay quiet."

"Good." Vanguard stopped the car and switched it off. "Switch to encoded channels now, and switch off the mics. You can still talk, but keep the chatter to a minimum, and all of it between us. We don't want these idiots to know who we are and what we're doing."

Magician nodded and flipped a switch on her mask, and Jaune did the same a second later. It wouldn't change anything, at least not to them, but it would mean their voices wouldn't be heard outside of the mask. To everyone else, they'd appear completely silent, which would probably be pretty scary now that he thought about it. He'd look and sound like a silent avatar of death.

He wouldn't be, of course. He could be screaming like a banshee behind the mask… it was just that no one would know.

Vanguard nodded once they were all synchronised, and then stepped out of the car. Magician did the same with Jaune following. The doors slammed shut and the car locked, they ducked low and jogged deeper into the alleyway, away from the main road that still busted with life. Over several buildings, some cranes could be seen standing tall over the surroundings. That was probably the docks, with the cranes used to move heavy containers on and off the cargo ships.

They were still in public territory, though – and dressed suspicious enough to draw attention. Vanguard rushed up to a ladder and tested it by placing a foot on it. He then backed away and nodded upwards. Magician returned the nod, then scaled it with incredible agility.

"You next," Vanguard said. "I'll bring up the rear."

Jaune was less swift with the ordeal, but did his best. Despite his aversion to flying, he didn't have any real problems with heights, but it was still slow going – about the same pace any normal person would use to climb a ladder. _I'll have to ask Magician how she did it so fast. Even Vanguard looks like he has to slow down for me, and he probably weighs a lot more than I do._

"Up you come," Magician said, taking his hand and dragging him up the last few rungs. She tugged him along and out the way so their last member could scale up. Vanguard didn't say a word, and instead rushed past to peek over the edge of the building.

"The rooftops are how we usually move," Magician explained. "People call them the thieves highway, so it's not unusual to see people up here."

"And it's not a bad thing if people assume we're criminals, right?"

"You're learning…" She nodded her head, and he could imagine a smile behind the mask. "It would be odd for us to walk the streets, but up here, everyone assumed we're thieves travelling to and fro. The police would almost certainly try to stop us, but we should have no problem outrunning them."

"If class is over, we _do_ have a mission," Vanguard interrupted.

"I'm just teaching him something…"

"He'll learn better by experience. The coast is clear, so get moving." Vanguard took a running jump and leapt from one building to the next. His legs flexed on landing, body crouched low as he stood and waved back to them. Despite the distance, his voice came into their masks as though he stood right by them. "If you don't think you can make the distance, then use your grapple. We shouldn't need them all, and the Director would be annoyed if I let you splat across the pavement."

Jaune rolled his eyes, but realised a second later no one could see it. The jump looked frightening, but it honestly wasn't that far, only about three metres across, and maybe two lower than the building they were already on. It would be like jumping off a caravan roof, and nowhere near as catastrophic as his botched landing during initiation. He took a running jump and held his breath, letting it go as he landed and stumbled on the other side. Vanguard caught him before he could fall, and Magician made the leap after him, landing gracefully with one hand on the roof.

The journey continued like that for five minutes or so, Vanguard scouting out the best places to jump and the two of them trusting his judgment. Only once did he need to use his grapple, and that was to make one that required them to go a little higher. Magician was able to jump across and catch herself on a window ledge, then scale the sheer wall. Vanguard and he were far less able, and cheated their way up.

Eventually, however, the buildings gave way to open ground interspersed with brightly coloured cargo containers. Their final jump was from some kind of office building onto the top of them, and Jaune winced at the loud, metallic sound. The three of them threw themselves down and laid low, waiting to see if anyone heard it.

"Ditch the containers," Vanguard instructed. "We'll use them as cover, but stick low. We stand out now, and we don't want to be silhouetted against the sky."

"What about the noise we just made?"

"Kids, late night workers or animals. So long as we're not here when someone comes to investigate, they'll make up their own excuse."

"No one expects us here," Magician said. "If there _are_ any guards, they'll have been doing this for weeks or months already. Unless the enemy is on high alert, you can usually expect a certain degree of laxity in their actions."

"Expect, but don't count on it," Vanguard warned. "That kind of thinking can get you killed." He nodded ahead and took them through several twists and turns in the containers. A warehouse in the distance started to come closer, and Jaune quickly figured out what the target was. "We enter through the roof and make our way down," Vanguard said. "In the event of an escape, our exfiltration point if the roof again. If things get hairy, use your grapple as a zipline to get away. If you hit a container, you can ride it down to there."

He nodded, but hoped it wouldn't come to that.

"Guards on left," Magician whispered. "Two, neither looking this way. Move across and I'll cover you." She paused by a container and slipped something out from her sleeve. It was a gun of some sort, but much smaller than the ones he'd seen Nora and Ruby use. In fact, it was little more than a silver handgun. He didn't get a chance to see much more as Vanguard took hold of his arm and dragged him out into the open.

"Don't hesitate," he hissed. "The moment there's an opening, we take it. If you pause for even a second, you're dead. Always keep moving." The large man hauled him across the open ground, then tossed him back so that he slammed against one of the concrete walls. "Clear," he reported. "Make your way over now, Magician."

"Roger that."

There was barely time for him to catch his breath before she was over and to them, and she was _much_ faster than either he or Vanguard were. She held the gun in her hand, but paused when she saw him looking. With a soft laugh, she flipped it over so that it spun around her finger. With a flourish of her arms, she opened her hand, only for the gun to have vanished.

"Impressed?" she asked. "I'm called Magician for a reason."

"Save the flirting for later. We need a way up."

"There's a drainpipe over there."

"Do Rat and I look light enough to scale that?"

"Well, you could both stand to lose some weight then." Magician laughed, but quickly dashed over and started to climb the metal pipe. She handled it easily, but Jaune had a feeling had he or Vanguard tried, it would have collapsed. Once she was at the top, she vanished over the ledge of the building, but a moment later, a spool of rope fell down. Vanguard grabbed it and tugged a few times to make sure it was secure.

"Have you ever climbed a sheer rope before?" he asked.

Jaune winced. His silence was probably answer enough, as embarrassing as that was to admit.

"Ugh, typical. Fine, hold the bottom for me while I get up, then get a good grip and I'll pull you myself. Get yourself to a gym, though. I won't be around to do this all the time."

"Can't we use our grapples?" Jaune asked.

"Too loud. There could be White Fang inside." Vanguard placed one foot on the wall and pulled himself up so that he was walking sideways. "Here, grab the rope and keep it taut."

"Whoah!" Jaune almost stumbled in his rush to catch it. He had to admit, it was impressive how fast such a big man could scale the wall. There _was_ a certain terror, however. If anyone were to look this way, then the faunus' night vision wouldn't even be needed to see them. They stood out like sore thumbs.

 _How is no one noticing this? I feel like we're being so obvious!_ They'd arrived in a car, parked it in an alley and then jumped across buildings to reach here, none of which seemed like anything the guys in the movies would have done. Then again, the movies always seemed to skip that, didn't they? Apart from the usual over-the-top thing with an agent in a secret jet plane or a missile, they never really covered how to sneak in.

With the airspace being completely clear, either of those things would have just drawn more attention. Maybe this was the best way…

"I'm up. Grab hold of the rope, Rat."

"I've got it." He wrapped it around his wrist and held tight, then placed a foot on the wall like Vanguard had. When the rope started to tug up, Jaune walked up the wall, assisted by the burly man above. "Hey, this isn't so hard."

"Because I'm doing half of it for you," Vanguard huffed. "You can climb on your own the next time." He grunted and dragged Jaune up the remaining few feet, then drew up the rope and dumped it by the edge. "We'll use it again if we can, and it's not like we'll need it if we're spotted. There's no way to trace it back to us."

Jaune nodded and panted for a little bit, drawing breath into his lungs as Magician and Vanguard scanned the roof and tested the doors. As expected, they were all closed and locked. "We could break or pick them," Magician explained, "but that would be an obvious entry point. If they have guards inside, they'll be watching the doors." She turned to him and crossed her arms. "Do you see any other ways in? Might as well give you a little test."

A test, now!? He'd have complained but he was too busy catching his breath. Instead, he looked around the roof for anything that stood out. There was a large, metallic structure that pumped air.

"The ventilation system?"

"Straight from the movies," Magician chuckled. "Sadly, no, it's not a good idea. The metal used for it is lightweight and weak, all the better to save material when all it's used for is funnelling out air. Even if it could hold our weight, we'd be walking or crawling on metal, and I don't need to tell you how loud that can be."

Ah, that was a good point. With that in mind, they'd be best avoiding any metal floors at all, since those would make their footsteps echo. He glanced around for a skylight, but there didn't seem to be any. The warehouse was just a squat, square building with a flat roof and a single access door.

"I give up," he said. "What do we do?"

"It's a trick question," Vanguard grunted, knelt by the door. It clicked open a second later. "We go in the obvious way."

"But didn't you just say that was a bad idea?"

"I said it would be an obvious entry point that might be guarded," Magician defended. "I never said we couldn't deal with those guards, or that we shouldn't. Individually, we are better trained than any White Fang guard." She paused and looked at him. "Or two of us are…"

Ouch. Not untrue, but still…

Vanguard led them into the building, code name suiting his actions as he scanned the corridor left and right, then waved them down. The floor beneath them was stone and concrete, though off to the left, there was a mezzanine walkway that led over and into the main warehouse. Magician shook her head at it, and Jaune nodded as he noticed it was made of rusted metal. They'd be heard the second they stepped out onto it – and that was if it didn't collapse altogether. They took the other route instead, which skirted around the interior wall on the second or third floor.

"The lights aren't on," Jaune whispered, activating his night vision. "Are we sure this is the right place?"

"White Fang likes to keep their safehouses dark. Anyone who asks for a light to be turned on is probably a human spy, and if the police _do_ show up, they'll be at a disadvantage."

"Not much of a safehouse if we know about it."

"Don't be mistaken, Rat. This place is unknown to the authorities." Vanguard waved them into another corridor and past a staircase. He glanced down it and shook his head, then pushed himself up against a door on the other side of the corridor, listening through it. He nodded a second later and tested the handle. It was open, and the door swung quietly open.

"Overseer's office," Magician whispered, sliding in. "Looks unused, but should have a good view of the entire warehouse."

"Is it safe to stand at the window?" Jaune asked, a little worried since the woman was peering through it. "Won't they see you?"

"It's all but impossible to see through if there's not enough light to refract it, and they've got everything turned off. Besides, they're not going to look up here." She hummed to herself, and Jaune walked up with a shrug to look through as well.

He winced at what he saw.

"Well, it definitely looks active," Vanguard said. "I guess the Director's intel was spot on. Looks to me like it's a distribution centre. They probably ship dust in mixed among commercial transports, then steal it from the docks and shuttle it deeper into Vale. I wouldn't say think this is where they're keeping it."

"No sign of the Paladin, either," Jaune pointed out, looking for any unusual shapes. There were none. "Does that mean this was a waste?"

"Not necessarily. We cut out a location, and we confirmed the White Fang are active." Vanguard pointed down to two uniformed soldiers who were securing the top of a wooden crate. "They're busy little bees, huh? Looks like something is going down."

Jaune agreed, even if he wasn't sure what it was. There were rows and rows of boxes and crates, and given that these guys were terrorists, he very much doubted they were filled with cuddly toys and chocolate bars. "What's going to happen to this place?" he asked. "Now that we know it's a White Fang base, I mean. Will it be raided?"

"Doubtful," Magician answered. "Oh, don't worry – we won't let this go on. The Director will probably have the place bugged, or assign someone to watch over it. If we shut this down, however, then the White Fang will only move it elsewhere. It's best to milk it for all the information we can get. If he has the shipments followed, we might be able to find all the safehouses this place delivers to." She turned to face him and he could tell she was smiling. "That might mean the VSS can alert the police, and then shut down several outposts at once. A good profit for a single night's work, eh?"

It was – and Jaune felt both relieved and proud to know it. He hadn't really done anything himself, but their actions tonight might make a serious dent in the White Fang's operations, even if that meant holding back for now. Come to think of it, they'd probably have to hold off until they'd secured the Paladin, otherwise the White Fang might panic and try to hide it – or worse – _use_ it.

"So," Vanguard said. "Not bad for an introductory mission, no?"

"It wasn't," he said. "It was actually pretty easy. I take it not all missions are like this?"

"Depends, really. More often than not, they are. There wouldn't be much of a life expectancy if every mission was a shit show from the start. You get dangerous ones, too, but that's usually when something goes wrong." He pushed off the window and stepped away. "This one seems fairly clean cut. You're recording this, Magician?"

"Yep. We have what we need," Magian nodded. "The Paladin isn't here, but the White Fang are. We should leave and report this back to the Director. He'll know what to do."

"Understood," Vanguard replied. "Rat, make your way back to the upper floor an-"

"Vanguard, wait!"

Magician's voice was filled with urgency, and silenced the larger man in an instant. Their eyes were drawn once more to the scene below, where a much larger member of the White Fang armed with a chainsaw was walking beside another man.

A human, that was. But why would the White Fang work with their sworn enemies?

"Torchwick," Vanguard growled. "What the hell is he doing here?"

"He couldn't be working with the White Fang, surely. They despise humans, and he must represent the worst of them. Wait, Vanguard, do you think he could have had something to do with the raid on that train?"

Vanguard was silent for a long moment, but eventually nodded. "It's possible. He would have the resources and the skill to pull it off, and I'd believe Torchwick having agents in the Atlas military long before I would the White Fang."

"Should we leave?" Jaune asked nervously. "Oobleck needs to know about this, right?"

"He'd rather know what Torchwick does."

"He might know where the Paladin is," Magician agreed. "He could well be visiting here to arrange for its transport."

"Then we report that back," Jaune tried, almost desperately. "Guys, this is getting pretty dangerous for an introductory mission. We're supposed to be avoiding risks!"

"The mission's changed. It happens a lot." Vanguard moved, and Jaune was left with no option but to follow, keeping his head low. "Take it as a learning experience, Rat. This is a golden opportunity for us. We need to hear what Torchwick is saying."

"Do we, though? It's not like he's going to up and tell them where it is!"

"No, but he might hint as to why he's working alongside them," Magician whispered. She kept her voice calm and soothing. "He is more than just a petty criminal, Rat. If he's working with a dangerous organisation like them, it can only mean bad things. It would be in Vale's best interests for us to know why, and what they intend. I'm sorry, Rat," she added. "We wouldn't suggest this otherwise, but the knowledge we gain here might save lives."

Yeah, and cost him his. Jaune bit his lip, but knew there was nothing he could do. Sure, they might agree to let him leave early, but he had no idea where to go, and Oobleck would no doubt have words. Besides all of that, a part of him didn't want to leave. It was dangerous and he was afraid, but if he couldn't face that to try and help the people of Vale, then how could he expect himself to face the Grimm as a huntsman?

He couldn't. Fear was fear, no matter the cause.

"Fine," He gritted out. "I'm in."

"That's the spirit," Vanguard drawled. "Either way, this op is now beyond your level. I want you to sit back and stay hidden in this room. Leave the rest to Magician and I."

"Don't worry, Rat," the girl said, nodding her masked face at him. "We've done missions like this before. We'll be fine."

What else could he say? Jaune nodded and watched as the two slipped from the office, their footfalls all but silent on the concrete walkway. They vanished into the shadows a moment later and were gone. Being left alone in an overseer's office in the middle of a warehouse infested with dangerous terrorists wasn't exactly how he'd planned to spend his first weekend in Vale. It also wasn't what he imagined his team assumed he was up to.

With a put-upon sigh, Jaune moved quietly over to the desk and sat down on it, then – to give himself something to do – rooted through the drawers for any incriminating documents. Financial reports, some stuff about targets and deliveries, but it looked like the previous people who'd worked here and not Torchwick. What had he expected, that criminals would keep detailed paperwork and accounts?

There was no chatter from Vanguard and Magician, which probably meant they'd moved to a private channel, rather than that they weren't talking. The silence was smothering, especially when he could still hear the occasional bump and raised voice from downstairs. _It's fine,_ he told himself, _I just need to wait until they finish with everything. There's nothing to worry about._ It was five minutes of relative silence before Vanguard's voice came back, and it was with something he didn't want to hear.

"Jaune, move!"

The command was so sudden, he surged to his feet, but his mind was addled and he fixated on the wrong thing. "Wait, you used my name-"

"There's no time. You have to move!"

"Why?" Jaune asked, but the raised voices and oncoming footsteps answered his question long before Vanguard could. They were just outside the door and coming closer. His eyes widened and he looked about, but apart from the window, there were no other exits from the room.

He was trapped.

"Because Torchwick is coming straight for you," Vanguard groaned. "Shit."

The door opened.

"Well, well, well," Roman Torchwick drawled. He twirled his cane and leaned on it, even as the White Fang with him recoiled in shock. Weapons were raised a second later, and Jaune took a step backwards. "What _do_ we have here, hm? You didn't tell me we had a guest."

"Because we didn't invite one," the huge faunus growled.

"Then I see your security is as lax as ever. I suppose we'll have to get the answers straight from our friend's mouth, hm?"

"The mission is compromised," Vanguard snarled, his voice coming through the mask and only to Jaune's ears. "Magician, go loud!"

Loud…?

"Roger that. Rat? Brace yourself."

"Wait, brace myself for what!?"

She didn't answer with words, not that he'd have been able to hear her if she had. Instead, there was a loud explosion that shook the room, sending not only him, but also Torchwick and the White Fang to their knees. People screamed and the world shifted, even as the vibrations from the explosion robbed him of sight and sound temporarily.

A second later, the concrete floor beneath their feet gave way.

 _Oh,_ Jaune thought as he hurtled towards the ground below. _That's what `loud` means…_

* * *

 **The first mission, and, of course, this being a fic, it goes wrong. This chapter came with a little exposition as well, important to explain something of the political situation (or at least as I see it from what we've been presented with in the show). After all, Atlas** _ **doesn't**_ **seem to share their technology with Vale, and there** _ **have**_ **been wars in the past.**

 **Makes sense that they would have their own agenda in mind – as would Vale.**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 10** **th** **September**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	8. Chapter 8

**Here's the next chapter, and I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 8**

* * *

All hell broke loose before Jaune even hit the ground. He fell through the air screaming silently into his mask, while Torchwick and the White Fang yelled out their own mixtures of surprise and shock. The fall was a good fifteen feet or so, and with ruined concrete falling all around them, it didn't look like his landing would be a gentle one.

"Jaune," Vanguard instructed directly into his earpiece. "Use your grapple!"

Fear didn't give way, but he nodded nonetheless, then realised Vanguard couldn't see it, before he remembered that didn't matter in the grand scheme of things. His right arm shot out and he fired his grapple, not really aiming at anything. As long as he didn't hit the floor, he'd be fine. The strong steel chord whistled through the air and slammed into wood – a wooden crate atop a larger stack of them. It went taut a second later and he gripped it tight, hoping against all hope that it wouldn't fall. Whatever was in it was heavier than him, however, for it held strong and he was able to swing himself out of the falling rocks and criminals.

He sailed through the air, legs flailing behind him – only for his eyes to widen as he realised where he was headed. Hit a crate on a massive pile of crates and swing towards it, and there wasn't really anywhere to go. He crashed into the crates, knocking some aside and causing others to tumble to the floor.

Through the haze of pain and dizziness, he heard voices below.

"Intruders!" one called.

"Find them!"

"Kill them all!"

"Jaune," a feminine and much calmer voice whispered. "Are you alive?"

"Y-Yeah," he replied. He tried to move, but wasn't able to. He'd gotten stuck inside some crates, and while they weren't crushing him, he couldn't quite stand up. He reached out with one hand and started to drag himself free instead. "I'm okay. What do we do?"

"Sit this one out," Magician said. "We'll deal with it."

"It's still your first mission," Vanguard agreed. "Watch and learn."

The communications went silent, though yet again he imagined they were simply chatting on a private line. That was fine, since he had enough things to worry about without being distracted. There was a crate that had half-fallen over the entrance of his little cubby-hole, more a space between crates he'd formed by knocking some aside when he crashed into the pile. He tried to push it away with his hands, but frowned when it didn't move. Bracing his back against another, he pushed with both feet instead.

That worked… though not quite in the way he'd hoped. In his head, he'd imagined the power of his legs being enough to push the crate away, and it was, but not in the right direction. When he pushed off, it was the crate behind him that moved. It gave way with almost comical ease, and crashed down the stack to explode on the concrete below. Jaune, meanwhile, slipped and slid off the crate he'd been atop of, and banged his head on one below.

When he cracked his eyes open after wincing, it was in time to see Magician and Vanguard engage their foes.

Magician flew through the air, a steel cord attached to or through the roof as she swung towards a large group of White Fang soldiers. She disengaged it at the arch of her flight and flipped the last bit of the distance, reaching into her waist and drawing the same silver handgun he'd seen before.

 _That won't be any good against so many people,_ Jaune thought, biting his lip. _She's stuck in the air, too, so there's nowhere to dodge and she can't get out of the way!_

And true to form, the faunus below realised that and raised their weapons towards her.

"Magician!" he shouted.

The woman didn't reply. Gun in her right hand, her left dipped into her coat and drew something forth. There was no making out what it was, but she held several of them between the fingers of her left hand. With a graceful twirl, she launched them at the White Fang assembled below.

They were rocked with explosions a second later.

Magician landed among them before the fire had even had a chance to settle. Her feet touched the ground, and then she was moving, head low and one arm before her, the other firing two shots to the left, and then three to the right. She dashed among them at incredible speed, then kicked off the chest of the faunus before her and hopped into the air. She seemed to pause there, though that might have been his imagination, but yet again she launched something from her hand, and this time he could see them as small, black canisters that exploded upon impact with just about anything.

 _It must have been Magician who destroyed the floor beneath me and Torchwick._ The thought was fitting, for what did a Magician do if not use tricks to simulate magic? Even now, while the explosions rattled and disoriented the White Fang, she darted between them, catching an arm here, snapping a kick into someone's face there. Her gun flashed and barked, apart from the brief moments where she reloaded it. Even at those times she was in constant motion, and he watched her discharge and reload while she had her shins wrapped about someone's neck, her body twisting as she flipped him to the floor.

They both landed hard, but she rolled over and drew his body with her. Rounds from the other White Fang members struck the unfortunate guy she used as a human shield, and they were forced to cease fire as she kicked him at them.

Before they could resume, she was already moving again, firing with one hand and ducking behind some wooden crates and out of sight.

Where Magician was fast and tricky, Vanguard was purposeful and brutal. He wielded two metal rods about a foot or so long, and weaved into people's guards before they could stop him. As Jaune watched, Vanguard blocked a strike from a sword on one of the rods, then twisted and drove his other elbow into the man's nose, breaking it. He turned back the other way, whipping the first rod around and into the side of the terrorist's face. He sailed away, spinning in the air, but Vanguard caught him by the foot before he could go, and launched him at a White Fang member desperately taking aim with a dust rifle.

The Agent didn't stick around to see what happened. The moment the first was thrown aside, he leapt forwards, gripping onto the edge of a wooden crate and then kicking off to get a little higher. Several shots fired below him and impacted the crates.

"Hold your fire," one of the more experienced terrorists cried. "Don't shoot the goods, you idiots. You'll kill us all!"

The faunus who had opened fire hesitated, and that cost them dearly. Vanguard landed on the first with both feet, driving him to the ground and then instantly ignoring him. His fist crashed into the throat of another, and he elbowed the gun out of his hands, catching it with his left. Not really aiming, and with the weapon tucked against his hip, he opened fire one-handed, spraying bullets wildly. The White Fang dove for cover, and although none were hit, that clearly wasn't Vanguard's goal. He tossed the weapon aside and charged the chainsaw wielding White Fang member, who was just picking himself out of the rubble from his fall.

"Rargh, intruders," the huge faunus growled. "Who are you with?"

Vanguard didn't answer, though he did block the chainsaw with one of his rods. The teeth bit into his weapon, leaving behind sparks and an angry squeal that made Jaune's ears ache. With not a word spoken, at least not audible from behind the mask, Vanguard shifted his hip and drove his knee into the faunus' groin. He faltered, and Vanguard used that moment to crack his mask against the faunus' face, knocking some teeth from his mouth.

He held a hand out to the side and shot out a grapple an instant later, dragging himself away as another hail of bullets strafed his position. Firing a second mid-flight, he diverted and launched himself at the shooters, who scattered in fear at his arrival.

It didn't help them much.

A shot pinged off the crate next to Jaune's head, and his attention was snapped back to his own situation as he ducked back into cover.

"He's up there," a familiar voice shouted. "Get your asses up there, you lazy animals. I'm not here to do all your work for you." Torchwick's face was smudged with dirt and grime from the fall, and he did _not_ look happy about it. He aimed his cane up in Jaune's direction, but clearly thought better of it and stalked away. It looked like he was content to escape while the faunus held the three of them off.

That was fine from Jaune's point of view. Their mission wasn't to capture Torchwick anyway, and he wasn't sure they'd be able to. This would make things easier, since he was almost certainly the most dangerous person in the warehouse.

Another dust round pinged off the crate next to him, and one actually struck his shoulder, though it was deflected by the thick, black coat he wore. Oobleck clearly hadn't been joking when he'd said it was armoured, though he had no idea what you could make a coat out of to deflect bullets.

 _I'd best not test it any further,_ Jaune thought, ducking low and peeking down the stack of crates. There were two White Fang grunts below with guns aimed up at him, but it was the six or so scaling towards him that were more worrying. He looked higher and wondered if he should climb further, but another shot that made him duck his head provided the answer.

That was what the two below were for; to pin him down until the others could reach him. Stuck on the crates, and with just a small hole between them, he felt more like his namesake than he cared to admit.

 _Like a rat trapped in a hole,_ he thought, looking for an escape. There was none. His hand fell to his dagger instead, and drew it with a near-silent hiss.

"This was supposed to be an introductory mission…"

He should have known it would go tits up.

The White Fang below grew louder as they approached, their grunts and chatter audible whenever they hauled themselves up another set of crates. Jaune swallowed and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down and stay still and quiet. In that regard, the mask helped. No one could hear just how laboured his breathing really was.

When the first man's hand appeared over the edge of Jaune's crate, he lashed out.

" _A rat has a powerful bite, you know,"_ he vaguely remembered Oobleck saying. _"Especially if they're cornered and left with no other option but to fight."_

The White Fang member certainly found that out, his scream echoing into the warehouse. Jaune tore his dagger out of the man's hand, blood staining the wooden crate where it had been pinned a second later. The faunus fell back and lost his grip, tumbling down the crates with a constant thud of flesh against wood.

The others hesitated – suddenly aware that the first to breast the crate would come face to face with a blade wielded by a very scary, very desperate masked man. A masked man with two allies who were even now tearing through their fellows down below.

It wouldn't last, though. He knew that. Whether it was by force, fear, or sacrifice, one of them would build up the courage to face him, and the others would scramble up at the same time, surrounding him from all sides. If he tried to hide back in his little hole, they'd simple shoot into it until his aura gave way. He was stuck and surrounded, with both Magician and Vanguard already in combat.

He looked down to the knife in his hand.

His eyes hardened.

"I killed a Beowolf with you… how hard can these guys be?"

Well, they were armed. There were more of them, and they had fire support, but still – it was the only chance he had. With a quick breath to steady himself he slipped down to wedge his body between two crates, feet once more on the one on front. It was the one by the edge, and the same crate the first guy Had tried to climb.

Once secure, he waited.

He didn't have to wait long. It took the White Fang less than a minute to find their reserves, and he heard someone haul themselves up with a growl. The uniformed faunus had a sword held before him defensively, but seemed shocked to see no one there. It only took a second for his eyes to glance down and find Jaune, but by then it was already too late.

He kicked the crate away with all his might.

"Arghhh!" the man screamed, falling with the crate, which shattered halfway down the stack. There was a sickening crunch from below, but there was no telling if that was broken bones or wood. He didn't have the time to wonder either way, since with the crate gone, there were now two other White Fang members, each surprised to see him, and even more surprised to see their friend sent flying.

Jaune was on top of them before they could recover their wits. He slashed and hacked with little finesse or skill, but plenty of enthusiasm. One of them blocked a blow from above, but winced when Jaune pushed into his guard and rammed him with his shoulder. He teetered back and flailed his arms for purchase, but Jaune's foot in his chest wasn't what he wanted. He sailed down with an agonised cry.

The other recovered faster, and Jaune winced as something sharp skittered off his under-armour, scratching the side of his ribs and passing between his arm and his side. It didn't cut through to skin and aura, but it was enough to tell him where the enemy was. He slammed his arm down and pinned the sword to his side, then twisted his body to make the guy lose his grip.

The faunus knew better than to let go, but that let Jaune drag him around his body. He did so to push the guy towards the edge, and would have pushed him off if several shots hadn't already impacted his back. The guy twitched and groaned, slumping in his arms. There was no blood, so his aura had probably saved him.

It was that he used to make himself feel marginally better as he hoisted the poor guy's unconscious body up to shield him from another hail of gunfire.

"Sorry for this," Jaune whispered, aware that the man couldn't hear him even if he had been conscious. "I'm sorry for this as well," he added, hurling him off the crates and towards those who were shooting at him.

Something jumped on his back from behind, and Jaune stumbled as a pair of arms wrapped about his neck. "Die, you bastard!" the faunus cried, trying to dig a trench knife into Jaune's chest. The first blow hit his armour and was deflected, but Jaune caught the second, unwilling to risk it. "Your kind will never succeed! I'll see to it, human!"

The two of them struggled over the knife, Jaune with one hand on the guy's wrist, the other on his own neck, preventing the terrorist from cutting off his oxygen. The weight didn't help, either, and he had to push himself back so as not to fall off the edge.

"Get off!" he hissed. He realised a second later the guy couldn't hear him, and he couldn't reach his mask to enable it either. Wait, his mask! With a hiss, he pushed his head forward, then slammed it back with all his strength. There was a mighty crack as his mask met another, and on the third blow, he felt the delicate, porcelain mask the White Fang wore break.

Two more hits broke the guy's nose. He could tell by the way he struggled to breathe. The bastard still managed to keep a tight grip, though. What was he, a barnacle faunus!?

"If I go," the maybe-barnacle hissed. "I'm taking you with me…"

He started to jerk back, throwing his weight in an effort to drag them both off balance. Jaune felt himself be forced back, feet coming ever-closer to the edge. He drove his elbow back once, twice, three times – but apart from pained grunts, he got nothing for the effort.

The idiot was going to drag them both down. He couldn't let that happen. With a silent curse and a quick moment to compose himself – he let go of the man's hand.

The knife plunged down into his chest. The strike was dead-on, and powerful, and it punctured through the VSS' armour with minimal effort, it being made to stop bullets more than it was a knife. His aura did better, holding it from piercing flesh, even if it hurt like mad and would no doubt leave a nasty, purple bruise.

It freed his hand, however, and Jaune tore free his own dagger and slammed the blade into the hand wrapped about his throat. He made sure to angle it so it wouldn't his own neck if it went through, but otherwise kept stabbing and slicing at the man's aura.

It was the third, maybe fourth cut, when something changed. There was a muted cry, and something warm and wet ran down his chest. He winced at the smell and slammed his head back once more, gripping the man's hands when the grip loosened. Ducking and pulling him up, he pulled his head out from within his grip, then punched him in the face, knocking him back.

As he fell, the faunus reached out for purchase, and found it in Jaune's vest.

"I-I'm not letting go…"

"You will," Jaune hissed, pulling his dagger up high. One stab would sever tendons, ligaments, or whatever else was in the wrist keeping him attached to the idiot. Right now, he didn't know, and he didn't care, either. He just wanted out of this place.

He didn't get a chance to stab. The crate they were fighting on the edge of wobbled, and with all of their weight distributed to the edge, it finally gave way beneath them and tumbled down. Jaune let out a cry, muffled by his mask, even as the White Fang grunt laughed his own victory and grabbed hold of his leg.

 _Not like this,_ Jaune growled, looking down to not only the crazed terrorist, but those below, at least ten or so, all armed and ready for his descent. Armour or not, aura or not, they'd swarm him the moment he landed, and he'd be too winded to defend himself.

Well, that was if he landed at all. With a violent kick to the man's face, Jaune snapped one arm up towards the ceiling and fired off a grapple. It slammed through the roof and held tight, the cord snapping taut as his fall was arrested.

The sudden force of it caused his body to snap to a halt, and the faunus below lost his grip. The man's face, bloodied and without his mask, was filled with rage as he fell. Jaune watched him go with a vague sense of satisfaction.

It turned to surprise a second later, when the crate they'd been on exploded onto the ground, shattering into splinters and spilling brightly-coloured sand all over the floor. Or at least it looked like sand, but he knew better. Anyone would. Now that he could see it all, suspended as he was, it was clear every crate contained the same substance, and that it had spilled across the warehouse.

"Dust," he cried. "All these crates are filled with dust. We're practically fighting inside a bomb waiting to go off!"

"Oh, that's a good idea, Rat."

Magician's voice was immediate, intrigued, and far too impressed with Jaune's discovery.

"Wait," he said. "What idea…?"

Magician didn't answer – or at least not with words. A grapple struck the ceiling in the same manner as his, and he saw her dark-coated form zip up it as the motors engaged. Suspended in mid-air, gun in one hand, she sighted down the barrel – directly to where the crate beneath him had exploded.

"No, no, no," he yelled. "That wasn't what I-"

Her gun barked.

The bullet hit the ground – and sparked.

The dust ignited.

Jaune sighed.

/-/

"He's a little singed, but okay," Magician said, pushing Jaune head-first into the car they'd parked earlier. He landed on the seat, and was quickly rolled over as the girl pushed in behind him, practically shoving him into the footrest. "Honestly, the blast practically helped him get up faster, and it's not like the roof offered that much resistance when he crashed through it."

"And myself?" Vanguard asked, voice stern. "Did you plan to ask whether I was okay?"

"I figured you'd tell me if you weren't."

"I've half a mind to shoot you."

"Only half?" she asked.

"The other half wants to blow you up, if only so you can experience it." The man was a little more than singed himself. In fact, his black coat was missing a large portion, and there was soot and tar across his mask. "You're lucky our coats are fireproof, or I'd have suffocated in there."

"Lucky, or simply aware?"

"Lucky. As in, you're lucky I haven't hit you." He pushed into the driver's seat and started the ignition, even as Jaune scrambled back up onto the seat. He was dizzy, but through the front window of the car, he could see the plume of smoke coming from what had once been a warehouse. It wasn't much of one now.

Oh Gods, they'd blown up a warehouse. Oobleck was going to kill them.

"Well, this was a mess," Vanguard growled, kicking the car into reverse. "Buckle your seat belts. We're about to break a few speeding laws."

"Why?" Jaune cried, struggling with his.

"Because the police are going to come, and they're going to cut off the entire area. We do _not_ want to be caught in that. We're pretty suspicious right now."

Jaune opened his mouth to complain, but was forced to swallow it as Vanguard pulled a fierce reverse turn that had them skidding across the roar. His hand slammed onto the door as he held on tight, while even Magician slammed into the window with a quiet `oof`.

Anything further he might have said was cut off as several cars whizzed by in the opposite direction, blue and red lights flashing above them. His first instinct was to duck and hide, but the windows were tinted so no one could see through. He stared at them instead, counting two, four – at least six squad cars and two fire trucks. There were even some Bullheads above, and he could hear more sirens in the distance.

It looked like every police officer in the city had been called out.

"This is going to be all over the news," Magician whispered. "What do you think they'll say?"

"White Fang stealing dust at warehouse accidentally cause explosion. The police's job done for them by incompetent terrorists." Vanguard spun the wheel, and Jaune and Magician were quickly made more intimate than they had any desire to be. "I'm sure there'll be some snappy pun headlines, too. They seem to love that crap."

"Probably," Magician agreed, pushing off Jaune. "Could you not drive a _little_ less psychotically? It's pretty rough back here."

"No can do."

"Why?"

A siren behind them soon answered, and Jaune was made immediately aware of the flashing lights that were almost certainly chasing them. No… no way. There was no way the police were chasing _them_ of all people. Secret agents didn't get chased by the police, at least not in the movies.

"This wouldn't have happened if you obeyed the speed limit!" Jaune accused.

"Don't be daft. There's a potential terrorist attack. These guys don't have time to hand out tickets. They're chasing us because we just came from the explosion." Vanguard swerved off the road and down an alleyway, the two of them bouncing up and down in the back. "Those ones we passed earlier must have radioed us in. Hold on tight, this may be bumpy."

"M-M-May?" Magician stammered, bouncing up and down as he took the car down a flight of stone steps.

Jaune's teeth rattled in his skull beside her, one hand clasped to the door handle, the other to the seat. It still didn't help, nor did the seatbelt, which only jerked him back into place whenever he nearly flew forwards.

"Don't worry, I'll lose them."

"I… I feel motion sick…"

Magician's mask snapped towards his, and she laughed nervously. "Y-You're joking, right?"

"Ulp… mrf…"

"VANGUARD!"

"What? I can't exactly pull over, can I?"

"What do I do?" she cried.

"Deal with it!"

"Uh, okay…" Magician placed her gloved hands on his back and started to rub them up and down. "It's okay, Rat. You'll be fine. Please don't be sick."

"Don't…" he groaned.

"Don't what?" she asked, rubbing more. "Does this help?"

It didn't, funnily enough. It was pretty obvious she'd never dealt with someone feeling ill, because a back rub was _not_ what they needed. It was what you gave a baby to help them burp, and it provided much the same result when you were older and about to be violently ill. Jaune tore off his mask and slammed it down on the seat behind him.

"Urghhh!"

Magician shrieked and pulled her feet up onto the seats, even as Vanguard cursed at the horrifying scent. "Hold on," he warned. "We're about to lose these guys, and it's not going to be pretty."

Magician's voice hitched. "Van, no wait – don't make us-"

Too late.

Vanguard swerved violently to the left, and with a screech of tyres, took the car down an alleyway far too suddenly for the police to react. They blurred past, even as he shifted gears and pulled away into the darkness. Of course, it didn't do much for Magician and him, who had been thrown on top of one another. Or, more precisely, Magician on top of him, her mask painfully close to his vomit.

"Argh, nooo!" she cried, trying to push away. "Oh God, it smells so bad!"

"This was supposed to be an introductory mission," Jaune groaned.

"Yeah well, welcome to the VSS," Vanguard said, easing them into traffic and away. "Enjoy your stay."

/-/

"I see…" Director Oobleck leaned back in his seat and poured out four glasses of bourbon. He was unmasked, not that anyone present didn't already know his identity, but his face gave nothing away. Only when he'd finished pouring and pushed the three glasses towards them did he speak again. "Well, I'd say it sounds like the three of you have had an interesting night. It's a shame the enemy were alerted to your presence. We certainly won't be able to rely on any information gained from staking out that place now. The police will shut it down."

Jaune winced. The idea of following the White Fang to find other warehouses and catch a whole lot more at once had been a much more appealing plan, but that was lost now. There was no way Torchwick would be stupid enough to keep that place going. They'd cut their losses and abandon it.

"That was my fault," he said, stepping forward, and then frowning when he noticed Oobleck lean back. Or downwind, more precisely. "If I'd followed Vanguard's instructions and run, they might not have found me." He ducked his head. "I'm sorry."

Oobleck chuckled. "Oh…? And what say you, Vanguard?"

"The call for him to stay there was mine." The taller man crossed his arms and grunted. "The fault lays with me if anyone."

"I could have argued," Magician said. "In hindsight, it was a poor idea and I should have said something."

"Shut up, Magician. Sir, it was my decisi-"

"No one expects brains from you, Vanguard. You don't blame an idiot for doing something poorly." Magician stepped forward. "I'm the one who should have made the call to move as a group, so if anyone is to be blamed, it should be me."

"No, I-"

"Enough," Oobleck said, silencing the pair. He shook his head, but didn't look overly annoyed. "The two of you are always so dramatic. It's a wonder I haven't split you up already. Though, then again, it looks like Rat will fit into the group well."

"He did come up with the plan to ignite the dust," Magician said.

Jaune didn't have the heart to point out just how wrong she was. Instead, he picked up the glass offered and downed the bourbon, wincing as it burned a path down his throat. It felt good… if only because the pain was so much less than what he'd experienced before, that it felt pleasant by comparison. Plus, it helped watch the taste of sick away.

"All in all, I'd call this a success," Oobleck said. "Well done, Agents."

Jaune's glass slammed down. "A success? Are you mad!?" When Oobleck simply cocked his head, he continued. "We started a massive fight with the White Fang, not to mention we set fire to the entire place. Torchwick escaped, and we were found out on the first mission we went on, not to mention we got into a police chase! How is that in any way a success?"

"Well, I _did_ get us away from the police," Vanguard pointed out.

Jaune glared at him. It wasn't particularly effective.

"I think you need another drink, Rat." Oobleck poured him one, and though it wasn't the answer he wanted, Jaune did accept and drink it.

"Someone's high-strung," Vanguard said.

"Be nice." Magician hit his arm. "He's new."

"Best learn to fit in quick then," the burly man said. "Like it or not, this is about how half our missions go."

Jaune almost choked on his drink. "W-What!?"

"Vanguard isn't wrong, Agent Rat." Oobleck smiled and sipped from his own glass. "You need to understand what we are and what we deal with. Our goal is the protection of Vale from threats that could very well endanger every person living in the city. What do you think it says about the people we consider our enemies?"

"That they're monsters," he answered. It obviously wasn't enough of an answer given Oobleck's unimpressed expression. "Dangerous, I guess. Intelligent and dangerous criminals with big ambitions."

"Dangerous, indeed. And do you believe such people become so dangerous because they are foolish or ineffective at what they do?" The Director smiled when Jaune didn't answer. "Quite right, Rat. To warrant our attention, our foes need to be clever, deadly, and very, very good at what they do. They are not foolish, nor are they impetuous or prone to mistakes. It is not always the case that we can infiltrate their organisations stealthily. Sometimes, a more direct approach is required."

Like the one they'd used tonight, basically less a job of sneaking in, and more of them starting a brawl.

"Then what's the point?" Jaune asked. "How can the VSS claim it's a secret service if we do stuff like that? The White Fang know who we are now, not to mention we've alerted the police."

"Have we? Or do they simply know that three unknown people in masks attacked them, while the police believe there is something more nefarious to this fire?"

He had no answer.

"Take refuge in audacity," Magician giggled. "That's one of the things the Director taught me."

"I'm glad to see you remember it, Magician. Why don't you instruct our newest recruit as to what that means?"

"Gladly." The girl turned towards him, mask still in place, but an amused, almost teasing air about her. "What we do must remain secret. It is of the greatest importance to the security of Vale that our existence is not found out, that our enemies do not discover who we are or what we do. The VSS must remain an unknown, both to our enemies, and many of our own citizens."

"I get that, but then why is it okay for us to do what we did tonight?"

"Because no one would possibly believe it was us. That's what it means to take refuge in audacity. It is to hide among the expectations of our enemies. Rival criminal factions, huntsmen, or just anti-faunus supremacists hunting down the White Fang. We could have been any of those tonight, and they can pick whichever they like the most." She laughed and picked up her own glass, hosting it in a quick salute. "But after what we did, and how we did it, no one would believe the secret service was involved in any way. It is, to put it lightly, too un-spy-like." Magician tapped the side of her mask, and a tiny fraction of it retracted. Just enough to show a pale chin. She sipped from the glass and sighed, the mask coming back into place. "Do you understand now?"

Did he? A little, maybe. So, they expected Torchwick and the White Fang to assume they were something else, and they weren't going to do anything to dissuade that notion. Would that really work, though?

"More than you'd expect," Oobleck answered. "Oh, don't worry, you didn't speak out loud. The question in your silence was obvious. Tonight, three people of unusual strength and skill assaulted a White Fang warehouse. Tomorrow, police will descend on it and mop up what remains. Tell me, what do you believe Roman Torchwick will think as the cause?"

The cause…? Jaune's brow creased. Torchwick wouldn't think it was rivals or anything, not since the police would come straight after. Then again, maybe it was possible rivals in the criminal underworld would tip off the police against their foes. Still, given the fact they'd fought so brutally – or Magician and Vanguard had – Roman would probably assume they were something else.

"Huntsmen," he finally said. "They'll assume we were huntsmen…"

"Yes, and much like any huntsmen would, we will alert the police as to their presence, sending in the authorities to mop up what remains. The same will work in reverse, with the police believing we were White Fang, and thus increasing their own operations." Oobleck toasted with his glass. "That is good for us also, since it will mean less room for the White Fang to operate. Torchwick will be none the wiser, our identities will remain hidden, and the mission is – as much as we need it to be – a success. Not a perfect one, certainly. We would have preferred you all remain unseen… but then again, we did not expect Roman's presence either. This certainly complicates matters."

"He was clearly working with the White Fang, sir," Magician said. "I have a recording on my visor and will upload it tonight."

"Good work, Magician. I will look through it tomorrow. Did you notice anything else unusual?"

"Rat found that the crates were full of dust. We ignited it and left the rest to burn, but if this is just one of many warehouses…"

"Then we know where all the stolen dust has been going," Oobleck finished. "Yes, I was suspicious as to where Roman would ship so much, but even I didn't expect their involvement. This is troubling. The White Fang are anti-human terrorists. Why would they work with Roman? Convenience, perhaps? It would not hurt to let one human live if they could provide you the means to further your goal."

Jaune shuffled awkwardly, but remained silent. It didn't look like Oobleck needed his input, and he'd rather know anything he could. The whole situation was above his head, and probably above his pay-grade, too.

Still, there was no denying his curiosity.

"I believe the next step for us is clear, but that can wait for another time. Rat, congratulations on your first mission with us. I hope it was everything you hoped for…"

Jaune's brow twitched, and he knew Oobleck knew it was, too. The man's smirk was just too damned self-satisfied. Jaune scowled, and took the bottle from his hand, pouring himself another glass. "Oh yes," he said sarcastically. "Explosions, gunfights, a police chase and vomit. It was everything I ever dreamed of."

Magician snickered, and even Vanguard huffed in what could have been, if he dug deep enough, amusement.

"I'm glad to hear it." Oobleck said, never missing a beat. "You should return to Beacon now while I debrief these two. I'll forward whatever we decide or find out to your Lapscroll, have no fear. It would serve no purpose for us to withhold information from you. Not when you're going to be involved in our next step."

He'd had a feeling he would be, but nodded regardless. He finished off the last of his bourbon and made his way towards the door. In the entrance, he paused.

"Are we going after the White Fang again?" he asked. "Is that the next step?"

"Impatient to know?" Oobleck laughed, and tapped the side of his head. "The White Fang are a threat, that much is true, but we do not concern ourselves with the enemy's troops. We strike at their leaders, but also their supply lines. In this case, those two appear to be one and the same. How fortunate for us."

Jaune nodded and left to get changed. He'd caught the meaning, not that they'd tried to keep it hidden from him.

They were going after Torchwick.

/-/

"What on Remnant happened to you!?"

Jaune stood in the entranceway to his dorm, a wide-eyed look in his eyes. It was nothing compared to the ones he was receiving. Blake looked shocked, while Pyrrha looked horrified. Even Ren raised an eyebrow in his direction, though his expression gave nothing away as usual.

 _Oh yeah,_ he realised hysterically. _I forgot all about this…_

How was he supposed to explain that he'd come back from a night out bruised and battered, and clearly exhausted. Worse, his clothing was bedraggled and damp with sweat, some of the grime transferring over from his uniform when he'd gotten changed.

To put it simply, he looked like a mess.

"And what's that…?" Blake's nose twitched and she leaned back. "You reek of alcohol."

"Well, that makes sense," Jaune said, grabbing the excuse handed to him. "I did say I was going out, after all. I met some old friends and went drinking with them."

"And does that normally entail you looking like you've just come from a warzone?"

He'd have liked to say no, but judging by the unapologetic attitude from Magician and Vanguard, he really wasn't sure. "Things got a little rough," he said, shrugging off his hoodie and draping it on his bed. The shirt he wore underneath only had half the buttons done up. He'd been too exhausted to do them all. "Nothing to worry about – I'm just a little out of it."

"I can tell," Blake said. Her eyes narrowed when he sat down. "You're not going to sleep like that, are you?"

"I'd planned to… why?"

Blake's nose twisted again, but it was Ren who answered.

"I think she's referring to the rather powerful scent you're giving off, Jaune. It's an interesting mix of sweat, sick and… whiskey?"

"Bourbon," Jaune corrected, standing back up with a sigh. "Close guess, though. Okay, I'll take a shower, but I'm going to bed straight after. I'm done for the night…"

The door to the bathroom slammed shut behind him, and the shower turned on a second later. Left behind, it was all the three of them could do to look at one another in surprise.

"Well," Pyrrha said. "I never thought Jaune would be the kind of person to party _that_ hard…"

"It's always the quiet ones," Ren said.

"Still, he doesn't seem the type…"

Blake didn't add anything, and instead shook her head and tucked herself back into bed. Her partner certainly was an odd one. He didn't look like the kind of person to like partying, and she still wasn't convinced. Her delicate nose had picked up another scent the others had missed, probably because it was less powerful, if no less acrid.

He smelled of dust and smoke.

* * *

 **And there we go, the first mission with the VSS, who perhaps showed a little more of themselves to Jaune than they really intended to. Their methods, at least. As they say, there's more than one way to stay hidden, and that doesn't always mean not being noticed. It's a bit of a weird one, but like Oobleck said, I imagine the VSS could easily use the guise of huntsmen, since they seem to be pretty much above the law when it comes to what they can and can't do. Yang trashed a club, and yes, they were criminals, but they weren't doing anything illegal at the time. They even had innocent customers there. Also, RWBY did cause a lot of stuff at the docks and with the Paladin fight, and didn't have to deal with the fallout of any of it.**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 17** **th** **September**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey there, here's the chapter.**

* * *

 **Chapter 9**

* * *

Luck came in strange forms, and for Jaune it came with orange hair and an over-sized mallet. He'd wondered what excuse he'd have to try and fix whatever mess he'd made with Ruby, and the first problem always looked to be finding a reason to talk to her at all. Nora had fixed that by deciding her team would spend breakfast and lunchtimes with theirs, apparently so they could talk to more people. Jaune wasn't fooled, nor, he imagined, was anyone else.

Nora and Ren were together but not together-together… whatever that was supposed to mean.

Either way, it got him closer to Ruby and her team – and without him having to look like a stalker in managing it. His first instinct was to talk to her again, but he recalled Oobleck's warning and held back. Talking without thinking was what had gotten him into trouble in the first place. In the end, he'd gone with a smile and a nod in greeting, which had still somehow been enough to have her wave shyly back and duck behind her sister. Pyrrha had giggled, while even Blake shot him an amused smirk over the top of her latest novel.

His team sucked. They really did.

"So, he came back covered in alcohol and sick?" Weiss asked, a vaguely unsettled and disgusted expression on her face. That it was aimed at him didn't exactly slip past him, but there wasn't much he could do about it, and he glared at Ren for bringing it up in the first place.

"No hangover, though," the unusually verbose man said. The reasons as to why he was talking probably had something to do with Nora and the fact she was hanging off his arm. "I suppose it's a blessing we didn't have to deal with that."

"He didn't take me as a party animal," Yang said, shooting him a grin that was equal parts teasing and suspicious. Hell, he really had to do something about that, didn't he?

"Well, maybe you shouldn't judge on first appearances," he said.

"And what are you, then?" she asked. "If I look deeper, what will I see?"

It only occurred to him then that having her look deeper at all would be a bad thing. He needed to fit in, and if that was as some kind of crazy boozer, so be it. There were worse things to be seen as; a stalker with a penchant for underage girls for one.

"N-Nothing much," he said, retreating behind the act of munching on his bacon sandwich. "Just saying you should keep an open mind. That's all."

"Lame. Maybe I'll have to drag you out on a night out and we can get to know one another."

Jaune paused, caught off-guard for a moment. _I thought she hated me and now she wants to spend a night out with me? What's changed?_ He looked to Ruby for answers and saw her watching with wide eyes and shaking her head.

It didn't take him a moment later to notice the evil gleam in Yang's eye.

 _Oh right, nothing's changed. She just wants to interrogate me. Great…_

"Maybe another time."

She flashed an evil smile. "I'll hold you to that."

"Disgusting…" Weiss growled.

"Oh, cheer up a little Weiss-cream. Some people like to relax by letting loose, and others do whatever you do. Tax returns or something."

"I didn't mean that," the heiress snapped. "And I do have hobbies of my own, thank you very much. I meant this!" Weiss pushed her scroll into Yang's face, but continued on when it was clear no one was able to read it. "There was a dust explosion at the docks last night. Hundreds of thousands of lien up in flames, not to mention the costs associated with repairs and downtime."

"And the deaths," Jaune added, a little annoyed she hadn't mentioned them.

"You heard about it?"

"Ah- I heard someone talking about it earlier." He laughed nervously, and let out a quick breath of relief when no one called him out on it. "Anyway, what were you talking about? What's disgusting?"

"It's the people responsible. They found White Fang masks in the remains, not to mention evidence of their handiwork. It's disgusting to imagine they could get so far into Vale without being noticed. The police clearly aren't working very hard."

"They do have the dust robberies to work on," Pyrrha pointed out. "Maybe that's distracting them."

"That shouldn't make a difference. I'd rather they let dust stores be robbed than allow murderous terrorists to roam the streets." Weiss sniffed angrily. "It's a matter of priority, and the White Fang should be at the top. They're monsters."

Blake lowered her book and stared at Weiss. "That's a little much, don't you think?"

"No, actually. I don't think it is. Criminals and thieves are bad enough, but the White Fang are murderers. They're no better than the Grimm – except that maybe the Grimm are better because they at least don't go out of their way to target people who can't possibly fight back!"

"It's a little rich for a Schnee to say that."

Weiss' eyes narrowed. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Only that you should stop to think before casting accusations," Blake said. Her voice was neutral, but there was no missing the fact she'd spoken at all. The entire table was silent. "Last I checked, the SDC were still using exploitative contracts on faunus who can't possibly fight back. What was it you said, no better than the Grimm?"

"Those people have no other choices," Weiss snapped. "Dust mines are out in contested territory. We didn't create those conditions."

"No, but you profit from them. You could pay them fair wages. It wouldn't even raise the prices of dust, but I suppose the bottom line is too important. The Schnee family needs another mansion more than a hungry miner does food or medical treatment."

Weiss looked like she might throw a fit, but Ruby touched her arm and shook her head. As the heiress visibly calmed down, he wondered if he should do the same for Blake, and whether she'd listen to him at all.

"How did the conversation even get to this?" Weiss asked. "All I did was point out how a terrorist group were doing doubtless horrible things in Vale."

"No, you started saying how the White Fang are pure evil."

"They are!"

"Then so is the SDC. One wouldn't exist without the other. They're two sides of the same coin."

"We are not responsible for-"

"Okay, okay, it's time to stop!" Ruby said loudly. "We're all friends here, right? There's no need for arguments. Weiss, I'm sure Blake didn't mean it like that. And Blake, I'm sure Weiss was just referring to the news story."

Unlikely on both accounts. Jaune had never been one for analysing conversations, but after the little lessons Oobleck had drilled into his head, he could see this one wasn't over. Not by a long shot. Blake and Weiss pointedly refused to look at one another.

"So," Pyrrha said loudly. "How have your extra sessions with Doctor Oobleck being going, Jaune?"

It was a random question and caught him off-guard, but it didn't take a genius to see she was trying to change the subject. He went with it, just as eager to break the uncomfortable silence that had fallen over the two teams.

"Pretty good, pretty good. We've been studying the-" The faunus wars, which would be a bad Segway straight back into Weiss and Blake's issue. He wracked his mind for a different answer. "Well, he's been giving me a rundown of the diplomatic status between the Kingdoms," he said. "Along with history about the civil war in Atlas. Interesting stuff."

It really wasn't, but everyone happily went along with it, and the conversation soon turned to how everyone was finding lessons. It was a nice, safe topic, and one he could forget himself and answer without fear of giving something away.

Weiss didn't offer much, nor did his partner, but they didn't argue at least, and Blake seemed to be back into her book and ignorant of the world around her. At least she was until a pained cry echoed across the cafeteria.

"Heh, look at these," Cardin said, gripping a faunus girl's ears. "They're actually real. What a freak."

Blake's chair scraped back. "Excuse me," she said. "I'm going to return a book to the library before our next lesson."

Return a book, huh? The one she'd been reading was less than halfway through, and she didn't have any other on her. Jaune cursed his newfound tendency to notice little things like that. He'd rather have believed her crappy excuse and not dealt with the return of the awkward silence. Not even muttered insults about Cardin helped.

Blake was upset about something, and he had a sinking feeling it was his responsibility to deal with it. A quick look to Pyrrha returned a shrug, and Ren echoed it. He didn't bother looking in Team RYWN. Weiss' opinion would be pretty obvious, and the others probably just looked awkward. Yet again, another great first impression the team was making.

He stood with a sigh.

"I'm going to go talk with her."

He half-hoped they'd protest or suggest he give her space.

"Good luck," Pyrrha said.

"We'll see you in class," Ren added.

Great. Just perfect… with friends like these, who needed enemies?

/-/

Finding Blake was easier said than done, and that really did mean something when he was a Secret Agent meant to be good at locating people. Eventually, it wasn't so much that he found her as he stumbled on a windowsill she was sat in, her book held loosely in one hand. It dropped as she saw him, and there was little mistaking her frustrated sigh.

"Hey Blake…"

"If you're here to talk about what happened, don't bother."

"I'm not here for that," he lied. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"You're a bad liar."

Ouch. He wasn't sure when a compliment like that had become an insult, but it had. Besides, he was good enough to keep his new job a secret from them. That had to count for something. With a nervous laugh, he leaned against the wall next to the window.

"I wasn't-"

She raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, yeah, it was a lie." He scratched his head and looked away. "Sorry."

"It's fine." Blake turned another page in her book and continued to read. "You shouldn't bother worrying about it. I was in a bad mood and I snapped. I won't cause a scene like that again. I'm sorry if I ruined your chance to talk with Ruby."

The off-hand words were enough to make him cringe, and to turn his cheeks pink. He pushed past them. "T-That's nothing to worry about. I was more concerned about you. You're my partner, after all."

Blake sighed, but did grace him with her attention, letting her book come to rest against her stomach as she turned on her side to look at him.

"Was there something you wanted to ask?"

Yes and no, and in equal measure. A part of him – a big part of him – wanted to ask just why she'd been so upset at Weiss, and just why she'd said the things she had. Even before he'd joined the VSS, his curiosity had gotten him into trouble more than once. Now, with his attention focused on Ozpin, Ruby, and solving mysteries – he wanted to know what was up with Blake even more. Was this the paranoia Oobleck spoke of?

Possibly… and that was there the `no` came in. Whatever Blake said, he wasn't sure he'd be able to believe it or not. His mind was at full attention, and was jumping from one crazy idea to the next. Oobleck had already warned him of the danger of letting it take hold. If he couldn't trust and be casual with his team, he'd have no one to relax and let his guard down around.

His work was focused on Ruby, Ozpin, and probably Torchwick. No one else.

He didn't want his team – his friends – to become work.

"No," he said, eyes closing. "I don't want to ask anything."

Blake was surprised. "Not even why I had that outburst?"

"Your reasons are your own, Blake. They're none of my business and I probably wouldn't fully understand them anyway."

"You're not even curious?"

Jaune shrugged. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't. That's still not a very good reason for you to tell me, though."

Maybe she had bad experiences with the SDC, maybe she came from one of those mining towns, maybe she lost a friend to them, or maybe she even had someone she knew who was a member of the White Fang. Hell, it was even possible that he might have caused the death of someone she knew last night.

And if that were the case, he just didn't want to know.

"You're really being serious, aren't you?" Blake watched him for a few seconds, but chuckled once she realised he was being completely honest. "You're an odd one for sure."

"In a good way or a bad way?"

"Well, I can't say I disapprove. If not for that, then why did you come out looking for me?"

"It was mostly just to see whether you were okay or not. Things got pretty awkward back there and you stormed off."

"I didn't storm off…"

He rolled his eyes. "Walked calmly away, then. Will you be okay? I'm not sure why you and Weiss were going at it, but with Ren and Nora being… whatever they are, we're going to be spending more time around them."

"And with Ruby being on their team," Blake teased.

Jaune just about managed to keep his expression serious.

She sighed. "I'll be fine. It was a moment of weakness. What Weiss said wasn't wrong… at least in terms of the White Fang being criminals. It was more the fact it was _her_ saying it. The arrogance got to me… along with how hypocritical it is."

So, she wasn't a White Fang sympathiser. That was good. _No, I'm not supposed to be thinking things like this. Blake is my partner, not my mission. It doesn't matter who she is, what, or how she looks at things. She is nothing to do with the VSS._

"What do you think?" she asked.

"Huh? About what?"

"The White Fang." Blake swung her legs forward so that they hung off the edge of the sill. She put her book away and looked him in the eye. "Say whatever you want. I won't be angry. I just want to know what your opinion on the whole thing is."

That was a tough question – and a loaded one, too. Go back a week or two and he wouldn't have even known what the White Fang were, let alone what his opinion on it was. Now, with added training from Oobleck, he knew more.

That didn't mean he was any closer, however.

 _They did try to kill me, so that's a definite negative, but I've not actually seen them do anything wrong, and it's not like they were born `wanting` to commit terrorism._ For the most part, his instinctual answer was to condemn them. They were terrorists and criminals. _I guess I can see things a little clearer after the VSS opened my eyes, though. People don't do things for no reason. The White Fang exist because of the inequality, and even if they were destroyed, another group would rise up to do the same if the root issue isn't fixed._

"I guess I don't have a strong opinion either way," he finally admitted. "I think they're criminals, and Weiss is probably right in saying the police should be looking for them instead of dust robberies. At the same time, though, it's not like faunus terrorism will go away if we keep introducing discriminatory laws and letting people get away with mistreating them." He shrugged and looked past Blake, out the window. "Even if they were eradicated, we'd just get the Black Paw, or the Purple Snarl, or whatever else they come up with."

"You're suggesting they're the result of a bigger problem?"

"Maybe." He shrugged. "Maybe the White Fang are like the symptoms of a disease. They still need dealing with, and you don't ignore what's happening, but you have to treat the underlying cause at the same time. Do you get what I mean?"

"I think I do…" Blake didn't show any obvious emotion, but her eyes did soften a little. She looked far less stiff, and a little more relaxed around him. "I don't really agree with the disease analogy, but I think I do with the rest."

And that was what had angered her in Weiss' comments, he supposed. Weiss spoke as though the White Fang were the problem, and one she wanted dealt with. Removed while her family no doubt continued as it always had in using faunus for cheap, expendable labour. They wanted the best of both worlds, with no compromise on their end.

 _Then again, most people refuse to negotiate with terrorists. Is that really the best way, though? Aren't we always told that if we can solve our issues without violence, that's a good thing?_ It was double standards, and it looked like Weiss wasn't the only one making that mistake.

"I want to do something to fix that."

"Huh?" He looked towards Blake, unsure what she'd just said or what she meant. "What do you mean?"

"I want to try and address that imbalance," she said. "The White Fang are a problem, but so is the way the SDC treat their employees, and as long as one exists, the other will as well. I want to try and fix things, and to do it within the bounds of the law." Blake shrugged and looked away. "That's why I decided to become a huntress."

That wasn't a bad reason, and he had to admit he was a little impressed. It made his reason, his original reason, feel far more selfish. Still, as far as dreams to have, he was honestly relieved at Blake's. Nothing bad, nothing dramatic, and nothing that he as a member of the VSS should care about.

"I think it's a good goal," he said, and was rewarded with a tiny smile from her. "That said, don't you think you're maybe going about it the wrong way?"

Blake hesitated. "How so…?"

"Well, I'm just thinking that if you want to make things better for the faunus, then the best way to do it would be to change the SDC. Normally that would mean getting a job with them and rising up the company, but you've got a pretty unique opportunity here in Beacon, too." He paused for breath, and was a little surprised by how Blake leaned forward, clearly interested.

"What opportunity? Tell me."

"Weiss."

"Weiss…?" Blake blinked, her expression quickly turning sour. "What about her?"

"She's the heiress of the Schnee Dust Corporation, right? Isn't that the best chance you'll ever have to influence what their policy is in the future? If you could get her on your side, you could maybe get a place in the company, or even convince her to help you with your objective." Jaune tapped his fingers on his arm, now in full planning mode as he thought over the lessons his mentor had given. "She's her own person, of course, and she's been raised by her parents and the Schnee family all her life, but right now she's apart from all of that. This is the best time to change the way she thinks, and her family won't be able to do anything to change her mind."

"Are you suggesting I befriend her to try and use her to my advantage?"

"Sure, that or just to find out more about the SDC. I mean, your goal is all tied in to them eventually, right? You might as well _not_ have Weiss Schnee as some kind of personal enemy."

"That's a good point…" Blake watched him warily, but flashed a small, amused smirk. "Was this your plan from the start? You're pushing me towards making up with her, but it's in a very unusual way."

Actually, he hadn't even thought of that, but hey, it would be a nice bonus. "Is it working?"

"Maybe…" She laughed softly to herself and kicked off the windowsill. "Thank you, Jaune. You've given me a lot to think about. I'm glad you came after me." She paused to sigh. "And again, I'm sorry for causing a scene back there."

"Don't worry about it."

"I'll help you with Ruby to make it up."

"Blake!"

His partner sniggered as she brushed past him, her eyes dancing with laughter. God damn it. Was he ever going to escape from that? He hadn't even done anything but smile at Ruby, and everyone was already pairing them together.

 _I'm glad Vanguard and Magician can't see this. They'd never let me live it down._

With a put-upon sigh, Jaune followed his partner towards the next class.

/-/

Blake made sure to nod to her partner when he was called up towards the stage. "Good luck," she whispered, apparently surprising the other members of her team. Jaune paused as well, but flashed a quick – if unconfident – smile in her direction. He trekked on up towards the stage and his waiting opponent, one Russel Thrush.

"Have the two of you made up?" Pyrrha asked.

"I don't recall us ever being at odds," Blake replied. Her snappy nature faltered and she shook her head. "Sorry. I'm trying my best."

"It's fine. We'll cheer Jaune on together."

"In a moment," she said, pushing away. "There's something I need to do first."

Pyrrha looked confused but didn't argue as Blake made her way away from her team and towards Team RYWN. Jaune's words from before echoed in her mind, as they had been since he uttered them. As frustrating and uncomfortable as they made her feel, there was no denying their effectiveness. He was right. He was absolutely right. If she really did want to make a difference, then it had to start now, and animosity between her and the Schnee family was a White Fang thing. She wasn't a part of them, so that shouldn't apply anymore.

Yang saw her coming, and the blonde's face dipped a little. She no doubt expected a continuation to the argument, and nudged her elbow against Ruby's arm. The diminutive leader looked away from the fight that had just begun and at her. Blake saw her eyes widen.

Weiss saw her, too.

"What do you want, Belladonna?"

Blake paused two feet away. "I was wondering if I could talk to you."

"Come to say some more things about my family?" the Schnee scoffed. Her arrogance continued to shine through, and Blake had to snap down on her instinctive response.

"No. I came to apologise."

Weiss' mouth opened, but the retort she'd no doubt had faded away. She closed it a second later, then looked to her team. With a quick shuffle, Weiss nodded and stepped a small distance away so that they could talk a little more privately.

"You… you want to apologise? Why?"

Apologies had never been Blake's thing, and she shifted uncomfortably. Back in the White Fang, there was no apologising for what you did, because that meant you doubted the cause, and that was dangerous for someone in such a job to do. Even before that, she'd always been so sure of herself and her path. She was always the good guy, and everyone else was bad.

Now, things weren't quite so black and white.

"Because I shouldn't have snapped at you like I did," she said. "I do have my reasons, and it… it has to do with people I knew who were negatively affected by the SDC."

Weiss' shoulders fell. "I'm sorr-"

"But that wasn't _your_ fault," Blake said, cutting Weiss off. "It was ten or more years ago, and I doubt you were making decisions when you were seven. I doubt you make any now." Weiss' lack of answer was all the confirmation she needed, and Blake instantly felt even worse. "I lumped it on you as if you were directly responsible, but you weren't. I'm sorry for that."

"I… I appreciate that, Blake." Weiss' voice was barely a whisper, and her eyes didn't meet her own. "I could have been less defensive as well, I acknowledge. It takes two to argue, and I was an eager participant. I suppose I should apologise for that as well."

There was no hiding her surprise. She hadn't expected Weiss Schnee of all people to show that much regret, or any at all. She looked genuinely apologetic, too. "It's fine, Weiss," she said, this time automatically. "I started it."

"And I continued it. I should have been mature enough to let it go. It was only your opinion, after all." Weiss sighed. "For what it's worth, I'm aware of the… less than fair conditions my father forces on his employees. I don't agree with it all, that much I swear."

This wasn't exactly going as she'd expected it to. In her head, she'd had plans of a quick apology, a hand extended, and then backing away as she thought more on her partner's curiously mercenary plan of bringing the heiress to her way of thinking.

Now, faced with Weiss' honest apology, she wasn't sure what to think.

"Then… then we both made a mistake," Blake said. "It happens. How about we agree just to pretend it never happened."

Weiss smiled. "That seems like a fair compromise. I'll just blame it on my partner annoying me all morning talking about how much she requires Ren's presence."

"And I'll blame it on putting up with mine's protests about how he doesn't have any interest in Ruby," Blake teased.

The two of them shared an amused smile.

"Peace?" Blake offered, hand extended.

Weiss took it. "Peace." She glanced back to her team and rolled her eyes, and Blake was forced to do the same as she noticed not only Ruby, Yang and Nora looking ridiculously happy, but Ren and Pyrrha, too. "We'd better get back to our teams before they start making up their own stories about us," Weiss snarked. "We've touched hands now. I dare say we're already married in their eyes."

"Or together-together," Blake agreed.

"Whatever that is supposed to mean…"

The two of them shared a last snort of mutual agreement before they parted and returned to their teammates. Blake vaguely heard Ruby enthusing about something, but her attention was soon caught by Pyrrha and Ren, both of whom looked inordinately impressed with her.

That annoyed her for some reason and she turned her attention to Jaune's fight instead of dealing with it. Why were they acting like they didn't believe she could ever apologise? She wasn't _that_ anti-social.

 _Jaune was right, though. I feel a lot better now that this is over, and maybe I judged Weiss too quickly._ His suggestion of manipulating her was still a good one, but it didn't feel quite so malevolent anymore. _She's actually quite reasonable. Maybe I can just talk to her and convince her to see things my way on her own._

Maybe that was what Jaune had meant from the start. It was hard to tell.

And come to think of it, wasn't it weird for him to come up with something like that in the first place? She couldn't say she knew him very well, but from what she'd seen of him interacting – and failing to interact – with Ruby, `manipulative` wouldn't have been the word she'd use.

 _More like bumbling, to be honest. Well, I suppose that could just be a difference between theory and practise. Maybe he thinks that way but isn't confident enough to do it._

It still felt off… and that was enough to make her bit her lip. Her instincts told her there was something more, but there was a part of her trying to hold back.

" _Your reasons are your own, Blake. They're none of my business."_

 _Jaune let me get away without having to tell him about the White Fang. I shouldn't be digging so much into why he does things a certain way, either._ Live and let live, or at least as close as she could to it.

She shook her head and focused on the match instead. It had been going for a few minutes now, and the two fighters were mostly even, if showing a bit of a lack-lustre performance all around. There were no flashy Semblances being used, and no gunfire, which made it seem dull compared to the other fights she'd seen. That wasn't to say it was no less serious. Not all people had to make spectacles like Weiss or Nora when they fought, and not some people preferred melee to range. Jaune had a sword and shield combination, while his opponent, Russel Thrust, used twin daggers. It was always going to be a face-to-face sort of affair.

Jaune was losing, though, and that made Blake's eyes narrow.

 _I haven't really seen him fight very much, so he could be weak. In the Emerald Forest, he followed Team CRDL from a distance. Maybe that was for his own safety._ Or maybe that was something to do with how he thought. If he was someone who preferred to strike from the shadows like her, then an `honourable duel` like this would put him at a disadvantage.

But if he was a sneaky sort, then why have a sword, shield and armour?

It just didn't make sense.

Jaune stepped into Russel's guard and cut upwards, catching nothing but air. Russel dashed to the side and brought both daggers in and around, aimed at Jaune's kidneys. He blocked them with his shield and pushed in – closing the distance. That proved ill-advised, however, as it gave Russel the advantage with his much shorter weapons.

 _Jaune's footwork is good, and he's an aggressive fighter. It still feels wrong, though. He should be using the length of his sword to his advantage, but he closes in instead. Why?_ Against a gun-user, sure, but against twin daggers? Jaune should have used his sword like a spear to poke and keep Russel away.

"He's going to lose," Pyrrha said.

"I know."

"He's not very good with his sword."

Blake bit her lip. "I know. It's fine. He'll have time to get better."

True to Pyrrha's words, Jaune lost control of the fight a few seconds later. He lunged for Russel's throat with his sword, but was unprepared for the faster teen to deflect it up and above with one dagger. The other lashed out and slashed across Jaune's knuckles, startling him into dropping his weapon.

Russel reacted quickly and threw it off the arena. He backed away a second later and looked to Miss Goodwitch to end the match.

She nodded and raised one hand, then brought it down again a second later.

"What gives?" Russel asked. "I disarmed him. The match is over."

"The match continues until unconsciousness, aura reaching the red, or when one party yields." The teacher nodded to the side. "Mr Arc has yet to do so."

 _What…?_ Blake followed the teacher's gaze to where her partner stood. His sword was gone, and he only had his shield. Anyone else in that situation would have given up, but he seemed content to fight on. _It's just a spar, so there's no real risk. Still, anyone else would have surrendered by now. He's been disarmed. What does he expect to do?_

Russel Thrush looked like he couldn't quite understand it either, but another look to Miss Goodwitch said she wasn't going to change her mind. "Okay, if you say so…"

He dashed forwards, twin blades held before him.

"I hope Jaune has some plan in mind," Ren whispered. "Bravado isn't going to lead him anywhere."

"He's unarmed," Pyrrha said. "This isn't going to be pretty."

Blake didn't say anything at all. Not because it wasn't necessary, but because for some reason… she wasn't quite so sure. He wasn't an idiot.

Did he have some kind of plan?

Russel covered the distance quickly, and Jaune looked like he'd meet him head on. At the last possible second, however, he threw his shield like a frisbee. It caught his opponent off-guard, but Russel hadn't gotten into Beacon for nothing. He managed to bring both hands up in time to block it, and though he was knocked back a step – and his aura was chunked a few per cent – he managed to remain standing. Jaune's shield, meanwhile, deflected off the stage and would have crashed down into the crowd were it not for someone catching it.

"End of the line!" Russel crowed, driving both daggers home.

Blake winced as they struck. One caught him in the stomach and carved a chunk from his aura, while the other went for his face. Jaune blocked that one, both hands knocking the thrust aside so that it skimmed past his nose. It was still a nasty hit, though, and brought him down to the yellow.

Unless he had some plan up his sleeve, this wasn't going to work out.

"H-Hey, let go!"

 _Huh?_ Blake looked back to the fight, and as she watched Russel try to tug away, her eyes widened. Jaune hadn't deflected his opponent's wrist – he'd caught it. Using the back of one hand to drive it aside and the other to wrap around, he dragged Russel off balance, and twisted his body to the side. His opponent sailed through the air and crashed to the mat, and Jaune held Russel's arm between his legs and shifted them to the side.

Had he been without aura, Russel's arm would have snapped, but even so, the agonised scream he let out was evidence enough of the damage. He dropped the dagger in that hand even as he lashed out with the other. It caught Jaune below the knee and pushed him back, but he snatched up the fallen dagger and faced Russel with it held before him.

The crowd murmured, impressed, or maybe just uncertain what to think. No one had bothered to disarm and then steal an opponent's weapon so far. Honour aside, it wasn't like it would be any easier than using their own. People trained with what they had, after all.

 _His stance looks more natural with that, though,_ Blake thought. She looked him up and down, her eyes narrowing as she took in his posture. _He looks more confident with it than he does a sword and shield, anyway._

Still… what could he do using someone else's weapon?

A lot, apparently.

"Victor, Jaune Arc." The crowd didn't know what to say or do when Miss Goodwitch called that, but Blake forced her hands together, and her team followed with the applause, as did Weiss and her team a few seconds later.

Up on the stage, Jaune barely seemed to hear it. He was too busy panting, the dagger held loose in one hand as he looked down on his opponent. Russel had been disarmed and then dispatched, his aura firmly within the red zone.

"Incredible," Ren whispered.

"Impressive," Pyrrha agreed.

 _Implausible,_ Blake's mind whispered. If he could fight like that with a dagger, then what was the sword for? Or had this been desperation and mad luck? It was hard to tell. The whole thing had been a mad flurry of knife on knife action.

"Mr Arc, while your willingness to fight on without your weapon was admirable, and your victory even more so, my greatest advice would be to practise more with your chosen weapon." Miss Goodwitch gently tapped her crop against her arm, but she didn't seem nearly as displeased as she had before. "The whole situation might have been avoided had you kept hold of your weapon."

"Y-Yes ma'am."

"And Mr Thrush, I believe this is a valuable lesson why you should not underestimate an opponent, even if they do appear defeated. Am I understood?"

"Yes, Miss Goodwitch," the defeated teen growled. He looked angry and ashamed.

"Now, then, if the two of you would depart we can- Mr Arc!"

Jaune paused at the edge of the arena, where he'd been about to jump down to re-join the rest of them. "Huh?"

"Mr Thrush's weapon, please. Return it."

"Oh, right." Jaune hadn't even realised he was still holding it, that much was obvious. He flipped it in his hand so that he held it by the blade, then extended the hilt back out to Russel. It was a practised and near automatic motion.

Blake noted it curiously. _Yet more mysteries,_ she thought to herself, equal parts amused and annoyed. Her partner really was proving to be a strange one. Still, she couldn't say she was overly disappointed. He had helped her with Weiss, after all.

"Good job," she said when he came back down. "I didn't know you were able to fight with a dagger."

"I can't."

A lie. He winced as soon as he said it, no doubt realising how obvious it was. Even so, he didn't elaborate, and after he'd given her a pass on secrets earlier, she didn't feel like she could call him out on it.

What might have been an awkward silence was quickly broken by Miss Goodwitch.

"Next battle will be Blake Belladonna versus Cardin Winchester."

"Good luck to you as well," Jaune said, grinning lightly. "He looks tough."

Blake barely heard him. She was too busy holding back the urge to smile as she saw the large, armoured man stalk up onto the stage with his huge mace. He was a distinctive figure, and more so because she recalled seeing him in the cafeteria earlier.

It was the bully that had pulled that faunus' ears.

Well… how convenient.

By the time the lesson was over, Team ABRN had defeated all of their opponents – though few would argue there was ever a more one-sided match than her own against Cardin Winchester. She might even have deigned to imitate her partner and knock the idiot out with his own weapon, were it not for the fact she could barely move it.

She made the arrogant buffoon call out his surrender, instead.

/-/

Oobleck leaned away from the computer screen with a low frown. There were several windows open, along with a map of dust raids across the city, but it was the message from an old friend that proved most frustrating.

O,

 _Because the fault is ours, I believe it would be best if we rendered assistance in righting it. We would not want such dangerous equipment to remain in the hands of someone like Roman Torchwick. I will send one of my best agents. They will, of course, work under your command._

 _This is an international effort, after all. We would not want to place the onus on you._

 _A._

As blunt as ever, but what could be expected from the ASF. Atlas was in itself a forward nation, lacking in both tact and diplomacy on a global scale. It wasn't their fault, or rather the mistake could be forgiven. They were a new Kingdom by all respects, with their founding realistically being after the colour revolution.

Still, it did take a certain flair to annoy Vacuo, Mistral _and_ Menagerie. The SDC might have helped with the latter, but Atlas' dogged defence of their greatest asset hardly helped. They were juvenile… believing the need to show off their might like an insecure bully on a school playground. Everything was overt with them, dramatic, in your face.

It worked to a degree, but only because they had the power to back it up… for the most part, anyway.

Even so, this could be a problem. They could hardly refuse the ASF's assistance – and it was clearly meant as a means to keep an eye on them. Allies though they may be, it seemed that even they realised the VSS would happily steal everything they could from the Paladins, and this Agent was meant to provide a deterrence to that. No doubt he or she would personally see to the Paladin's protection, or destroy the programs keeping it running via some failsafe.

Problematic for sure.

"I suppose this steps up our deadline a little. We'll have to secure the package before our guest arrives."

Rat, Magician and Vanguard would need to be sent into action again, which was unfortunate given Rat's rookie status. Were there anyone else he could send, the matter would be an easy one, but everyone in Vale was busy. The surveillance over Ozpin could wait a little while… or at the very least, he could handle that on his own. With a reluctant sigh, Oobleck typed a reply to the ASF, accepting their aid.

Jaune would be upset at being sent out again so soon. He would understand, though. Hopefully.

It would be good for his development, anyway. The boy was obviously ready and rearing for action if he'd felt it a good idea to break out his VSS-style training in Glynda's class. He was fortunate no one realised what it was, but he'd have to learn not to do that. Better to be defeated than risk yourself… especially when they might also risk the safety of countless innocents.

The VSS was bigger than personal pride, and often bigger than an agent's life, too.

A new window popped up before he was about to shut down and head to his afternoon lessons, and Oobleck inspected it carefully. The sender was labelled only as Vermillion, and his smile widened as he read the contents. Ah, some good news at last.

 _Director,_

 _Changing of the guard to take place two days from now – venue unchanged._

 _Expectations are low, demands lower._

 _One who stands out might attract the attention of a peacock._

 _Will maintain surveillance. Instruct as necessary._

 _Vermillion._

"Well, well, an opportunity for sure…" Oobleck hummed, one finger tapping on the desk as he considered his options. Magician and Vanguard would be too obvious, each standing out in their own way. There would be background checks, of course – but that could work to their advantage.

After all, they already had an Agent with no discernible background. Rat always did complain the work was nothing like the movies. Maybe he'd change his tune if he got to wear a fancy suit and attend a party.

Probably not, but it was worth a shot.

* * *

 **Gods, it's storming badly here. Got to get this uploaded before I get power cut for the rest of the day. Looks inevitable at this point.**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 24** **th** **September**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	10. Chapter 10

**Ah, Sunday. Bane of my life. Somehow always my busiest day.**

* * *

 **Chapter 10**

* * *

It was less than two days since he'd snuck away from his team for a `night on the town`, and already Oobleck was calling him for another mission. He only had the time to grumble something under his breath before he slipped his laptop shut and turned to the others. "I'm off into Vale again tonight."

Pyrrha looked up from her desk, where she'd been working on the day's homework. "Again?" she asked, frowning slightly and then trying to hide it. "Are you going out drinking again? I don't think it's healthy for someone our age to drink so much."

Neither did he, and if his Mom ever caught word of his apparent binging, she'd come down to Vale to tan his hide. That was if his sisters didn't hear first. Still, Pyrrha raised a good point. He couldn't keep going with the same excuse or it would draw attention.

"Nah, I'm not doing that," he said, laughing awkwardly. "I don't drink that much anyway. It was just a night with some friends, like a celebration for me getting into Beacon."

"I see." Pyrrha looked relieved. "What is this one for?"

"It's my Uncle," Jaune explained, piecing together a story on the spot. "He needs me to meet with one of his business partners to sign something. He would, but he's out of Vale at the moment, and the work needs to be done straight away tomorrow morning. They need someone from the family to sign. I could go tomorrow," he added, "but I'd be late for classes. The guy says he'll stay open late if I come tonight."

"Sounds serious," Ren said. "What does your Uncle do?"

"He's an author. I need to sign the deal for a new printer in Vale." The story came together as he went on, and he slipped further into it, finding confidence. "I'm kind of his busy-body, since he's practically a recluse and just writes. He pays me too, which is how I can afford to go out in the first place."

And that would nicely explain his wages from the VSS, should his team ever ask why he had so much money. His Uncle could be a hermit living in the mountains, and the reason he paid him so much was because he was family. Nepotism could go a long way to lessening suspicion.

"Who is he?" Blake asked.

Jaune winced. He hadn't thought that far, and there wouldn't be any books written by a mythical Arc that didn't exist. "He writes under a pen name," he lied. "It's kind of embarrassing what he writes, and it would be a bit weird if the family knew."

Pyrrha looked intrigued. "Really? What does he write?"

"Porn."

It had the desired effect.

Jaune's cheeks were red, which probably worked to make his story sound more honest, but really was just a result of how stupid he felt saying that. Still, he felt confident enough in saying his team wouldn't exactly be savvy on every porn author to ever exist. Take refuge in audacity. That was what Magician had said. This felt like a good, if embarrassing, way to use that advice. Judging from how silent the others had gone, it was as effective as their raid on the White Fang warehouse - except less fire and death. That was a bonus.

"Yeah, it's awkward," he continued. "I usually just tell people he's an author and skip over what he writes. Easier that way, you know?" Jaune laughed weakly. "A-Anyway, I should go and get this sorted."

"Will you be back soon?" Blake asked.

He had no idea.

"I might be a few hours. I think the printer will want to talk to me and probably offer me a meal. Since I'm the direct line to my Uncle, they'll want to impress me."

"Ah, I've had that happen to me," Pyrrha said, chuckling. "It's… I guess it was nice at first, but it got awkward in time. Everyone would treat you to food or free gifts, but they always expected something in return."

Her fame. Jaune smiled sympathetically. At least their team wasn't like that.

"I don't think it'll be so bad for me, Pyrrha. I'm just my Uncle's minion." He stood and made his way to the door. "I'll see you all later."

/-/

Blake watched the door close behind her partner and narrowed her eyes. Everything he'd said made sense, and didn't set off any alarms, but there was something that set her off nonetheless. Perhaps it was the speed at which he answered, or how casual he was about it all – like he was trying to be _too_ casual. Either way, she had to put some effort into keeping the suspicious scowl off her face.

"Jaune sure is busy lately…" Pyrrha whispered. From her voice, it seemed clear she was uncomfortable as well.

"The message must have come through his computer," Ren said. "He didn't have any plans until a minute or so ago. I heard him sigh at whatever he saw."

"Maybe his Uncle pushes him really hard."

Ren shrugged. "Maybe…"

He didn't agree.

Blake nodded.

So, she wasn't the only one thinking their team leader a little strange. That was both a relief and a problem. On the one side, it suggested her suspicions were founded in evidence and not paranoia, otherwise how would Ren have seen them? On the other hand, if he was perceptive enough to notice Jaune's odd behaviour, then would he also notice hers?

She looked long and hard at him. Those who rarely spoke tended to listen, and with how loud Nora was, Blake wondered just how perceptive he had become.

 _There's no need to panic,_ she reminded herself. _I haven't done anything suspicious at all, and even if they found out about my ears, they still wouldn't make the connection between me and the White Fang._

They would likely believe she hid them to avoid racism, the kind of which that brute, Cardin, had shown in the cafeteria. It would all be easily explained away, with them none the wiser as to her sordid past in a terrorist organisation.

Terrorists who were even now operating within Vale.

What were they doing in that warehouse? How long had they existed there? She didn't recall any dust collection operations, but with all the dust heists going on lately… no… were they involved in that as well?

To Blake's frustration, the answer was not an immediate denial. She'd been gone too long to know, and that meant the White Fang could be up to just about anything. Was it her responsibility to try and do something about that? Her mind said no. She had left them, and that meant it wasn't her problem anymore.

It was just a shame her heart didn't agree.

/-/

"You seem troubled," Oobleck said, the moment Jaune entered the room. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." The answer was automatic, and Oobleck gave it the respect it deserved, absolutely none. Jaune sighed and tried again. "There isn't anything wrong with me. I was just thinking how this is way more missions than I expected. I feel like my team are going to start noticing if I'm gone every other night."

"Living a double life isn't easy, but for what it's worth, I apologise." Oobleck gestured for Jaune to come into the office and closed the door behind him. The lights flickered on. "I didn't expect to have this much work for you. Believe me, this is an exception to the rule."

Jaune smiled weakly. "It's fine. I mean, this is important stuff, right?"

"I wouldn't have called you for anything less. Here, follow me."

Oobleck led him into a side room off the side of his office, one which turned out to be an attached office of sorts. In the middle of the room stood a desk, and upon that lay a map of the city. Oobleck moved around it and gestured for him to look.

The city itself was familiar, if only because he knew the general shape of it on a map. The specific details were beyond him, though he could see where Beacon was, and also some of the more well-known areas like the docks and Vale's busiest shopping district. More importantly, there were several bright pins stuck from the map – most of those clustered around certain areas.

"Do you know what this is?" Oobleck asked.

He didn't, but guessed anyway. "White Fang appearances?"

"Close, but not quite. These are all the reported dust robberies that have taken place across Vale in the last three months. Those that have been reported to the police, anyway."

So many? There had to be almost a hundred pins, and even over three months that probably meant a place was being hit every single night. How had they not heard about this? The newspapers talked of dust robberies, but not on this scale.

"The robberies are too regular, and have been taking place simultaneously in some cases," Oobleck continued. "Our initial information suggested Torchwick was responsible, and he still may be, but it's obvious he has other people working under his command. Before now, we weren't sure for what purpose the dust was being stolen or where it was being kept. Now, thanks to your work alongside Vanguard and Magician, we do."

"The White Fang," Jaune sighed. "And obviously, that means it's going to be used for something bad."

"Exactly. If it were being shipped out of Vale it would be a problem, but not our problem. The White Fang need supplies, after all, and we could assume at least some of it was to be used for mundane dust appliances, them making their lives easier in the wilds. Unfortunately, it's been kept _in_ Vale."

"Maybe it wasn't ready to be shipped out," Jaune suggested.

"We considered that, but the warehouse you attacked was on the docks. Had they wanted, they had ample opportunity to ship it away. Instead, our evidence suggests they were sending it further inwards."

It didn't take a genius to see the problem. Dust, volatile and explosive as it was, in the hands of terrorists and keeping kept inside the city. Those weren't ideal circumstances.

"And we need to stop that," Jaune said, earning a nod. "Okay, but where do I come in? I don't see Magician or Vanguard. Are you saying you want me to go against the White Fang on my own?"

Oobleck raised one brow. "Would you have any chance of success?"

"No."

"Then don't ask questions you already know the answers to. I've spent time and effort helping you, Jaune. I'm not going to throw that away." His mentor smiled at him, holding out a mug of coffee in a silent salute. "Besides, you're as of yet untested in single combat. I had a different thought in mind for you."

One that didn't involve fighting, presumably. That would be good. Jaune nodded and waited, trusting that his input wasn't necessary.

"We're not going to move against the White Fang right now. They are scattered cells dug into the city, so uprooting them will be a difficult and trying task. It might even spark them into dangerous action. Better to use the stolen dust than lose it."

Yeah, right in the middle of Vale. He could imagine the devastation, and what the resultant panic would do to the Grimm in the surrounding area. Terrorism took on an altogether different threat when it could draw monsters to the source.

"Instead, we are going to move against their supply lines, cutting off their ability to accrue more dust. Until that is dealt with, striking and reclaiming any is pointless. They will simply steal more, and we can't afford to watch and guard every dust store in the city. We strike first to cut that off." Oobleck pointed towards the largest group of pins. "We take out Roman Torchwick."

Oobleck smiled.

"Or, to be more precise, _you_ take out Roman Torchwick."

"Me?" Jaune wasn't sure whether to laugh or stay silent. It was a joke, right? It had to be a joke.

Why wasn't Oobleck laughing?

It took a few seconds for his teacher's completely serious face to sink in.

"You've got to be joking, Oobleck! This is insane. How am I meant to do that? Leaving aside the fact I don't even know where he is, I'm hardly strong enough to fight his men – let alone him!"

"You'll have time to learn… and come the moment, you will have a much stronger sense of his capabilities, believe me. This isn't an assault mission, Jaune. We are subtler than that."

 _Tell that to the exploded warehouse that was flashed all over the news…_

"You said you were upset because this was nothing like the movies, right?"

"I did say that," Jaune confirmed warily. He didn't like the look in Oobleck's eyes.

"Then how would you like to wear a fancy suit and act like a real spy?"

Jaune sighed.

"I've got a feeling I'm not going to like it very much at all."

He was right.

/-/

The Bullhead dropped him off in downtown Vale, and he attracted attention from the moment he landed. Maybe it was the suit, a fine, black jacket and trouser combination with a black shirt underneath. It was buttoned over his stomach, and there was a slash of red in the form of a tie, cutting a line down the middle of his body.

Or hell, maybe it was the red glasses he was wearing in the middle of the evening, despite there being no sunlight to block out. Maybe it was the fact he looked like a complete idiot, or some pretentious idiot.

Who could tell? It was all a mystery!

The glasses served their purpose, however, which wasn't just to hide his eyes, wide and fretful as they were, but also to relay Oobleck's voice through a tiny transmitter by his ear. He couldn't reply, not without looking mentally unstable on top of edgy, but he could at least hear the Director's voice.

" _One of our contacts, Vermillion, has passed us information on a meeting Torchwick will be attending. Ostensibly, it is to gather information, but the true purpose is to acquire more men for his operations. As successful as he has been in stealing dust, it hasn't been without losses – to police and to huntsmen. He needs more men."_

Jaune nodded and raised his scroll to his ear, pretending he was in a call with someone.

"Do I seek out Vermillion?"

" _Negative. Vermillion isn't aware of your identity, but is aware of the disguise you'll be wearing._ " Not just the suit and tie, but also the black hair dye which had turned his normally golden locks a hideous shade of tar. _"Vermillion will offer assistance, but nothing more. I wouldn't expect them to reveal themselves."_

"Is he one of us?"

" _No. Nothing more than a contact, someone on our payroll but not trusted to be a real agent. You will run into those every now and then. Things are easier this way. Should they ever be captured, they will have little information to surrender."_

And the VSS wouldn't have to put any resources into rescuing them. Jaune frowned, but knew better than to argue. It was a dog eat dog world, as he'd been discovering lately. There wasn't any time to risk lives on someone who wasn't even a loyal agent in the first place. If the VSS could buy their loyalty, so could someone else.

He had to wonder how many people in Vale were like that, though. Not to the VSS, but to the other Kingdoms, to the ASF or whatever the equivalent was for Vacuo and Mistral. Were there hundreds of people in influential positions secretly on the pay of rival Kingdoms?

Maybe. There was no telling.

" _Vermillion has had your fake identity added to the roster of expected men, but it will be up to you to make a good impression and ensure you are selected. Once you are in Roman's employ, you have the freedom to do whatever is necessary to prevent your cover being blown."_

Whatever was needed…? He didn't like the way that was phrased, nor the pit that opened up in his stomach. Robbery seemed a given. It was what he'd be recruited for. What else would he be asked to do, though? How much could he force himself to do it?

 _It's for the protection of the Kingdom,_ he reminded himself. If he had to terrify a poor shopkeeper in order to find where the White Fang were keeping their dust, then it would be a necessary sacrifice. It had to be. That kind of information could save hundreds or thousands of lives. Endangering one or two people would make up for that. The ends justified the means.

Or so he kept reminding himself.

" _No matter the circumstances, do not try to apprehend Roman without my express instructions. This isn't a hero's death, Rat. The VSS doesn't respect that. We need results."_

"I understand." It wasn't like he would be strong enough anyway. "What's my name for this mission?" he asked. "You said I was listed down as something."

" _John White."_ Oobleck said. _"John is a simple name, and close enough to your existing one that you can cover for any mistakes. White is a moniker given to unknown orphans, which both explains your lack of family, and your need for such illicit work."_

Well, at least it was an easy name to remember.

" _I will have to go radio silent for now. There's no telling if someone might have a Semblance or ability able to overhear, sense or interfere with communications. Just remember to act natural. You have every right to be there."_

"Unless Vermillion rats me out."

Oobleck's second-long silence wasn't inspiring. _"Yes… unless that happens. Good luck."_

The call went dead. Jaune hoped he wouldn't be following it. With a sigh, he reached up and disconnected the tiny transmitter from the shades, crushing it between his finger and thumb as he'd been instructed before. The pieces fell like metallic crumbs to the ground, and were quickly crushed beneath his black, leather shoes.

A spy in a suit and tie, armed with a pair of high-tech sunglasses and walking towards the bad guy's hideout. Technically speaking, it was everything he'd imagined.

Except for the bowel-loosening terror, of course.

That was all him.

 _Okay, calm down. This is a zero-risk mission._ Unless he was ratted out. _I go in. I try to get chosen. If I don't, I peacefully leave. There is literally no chance of being caught out._

Apart from the whole Vermillion, thing.

"Damn it…"

/-/

The club he headed to turned out to actually be `The Club`, as in that was the name of the club itself. A confusing thing which probably tripped plenty of drunk people up when they were trying to figure out where to go on a night out. It was a large-fronted building with two bouncers outside dressed in identical clothing to himself. They looked up as he approached, and let him in without so much as a question. The party-goers in the queue didn't complain either, probably thinking him an employee.

Inside, he was treated to the sight of a nightclub which only looked half-finished. Part of the dancefloor had been sectioned off by barricades and some brightly-coloured tape, and there was a large column of glass which still had some scaffolding around it. It looked like there'd been a disaster recently, though it didn't look like it had stopped the club operating.

It probably should have, given the health and safety problems. Then again, when you were already running an illegal gang, you probably didn't care about health and safety certificates. Jaune hesitated in the entranceway for a few seconds, and that was all it took for someone to notice.

"Oi, you," a gruff voice called. "What are you doing standing about? You've got your post. Get to it." The man wore the same outfit as Jaune, except for a fierce scowl on his face. "Don't just stand there. Move!"

"I'm here for the recruitment. Can you tell me where it is?"

The man froze, and his frown melted away. He looked Jaune up and down, and can't have been too impressed because he snorted. "You? Well, I guess it takes all types. If you're that desperate for work, you'll probably do. It's through that back door there. Now, get out of my way. You're blocking the entrance."

Jaune nodded and stepped aside, but even that wasn't enough and the guy slammed his shoulder into him. He winced and brushed by, headed towards the door he'd indicated. There was no one stood guard on this end, but there were two inside when he opened it. They stopped him and demanded a name.

"John White," he replied.

The goon on the left hummed, while the one on the right checked a list. Jaune bit his lip and hoped their contact had come through.

"Ah, here it is. He's good. You were nearly late, kid. The show's about to start."

The show? What show? Ahead of him, at least thirty or so people looking like him stood ready, along with three who were a little different – one tall man, and two pretty girls about his age or older. One of the bouncers pushed him in their direction and he jogged over.

"Another?" the tall man asked. "Don't recognise this one. Girls?"

"They all look the same to me," the girl in the red dress said, giving him a quick up and down before dismissing him entirely. "What about you, Melanie?"

The white-dressed girl didn't even bother to look at him. Instead, she tossed her hair back and smiled at the older man. "I don't really pay attention to the hired help. Was he on the list, Junior?"

"He wouldn't be here if he wasn't."

"Then it's probably fine."

"Guess so," the red girl said. "Can't say Roman will be too impressed. Not much muscle for someone who's meant to be hired for it."

The older man grunted. "So long as he pays, it doesn't matter."

A door at the back slammed open.

"And when do I not, Junior? Can you recall a time I ever short-changed you?"

Roman Torchwick…

Jaune swallowed.

The master thief looked much as he had the first time they'd crossed paths, though his white coat was pristine once more, and the anger he'd wore had been replaced with a confident smirk. He strode into the club as though he owned it, his metallic cane swinging in one hand. He came alone, but Jaune doubted anyone could have stopped him if they wanted to.

Certainly, Junior didn't try.

"You're as good as your word, Roman, which is more than I can say for most people. You'll be wanting a drink, I suppose."

"You know me, Junior." Roman held his arms open, and the twins rushed over to place themselves at his side. They smiled up insincerely at him, and he smiled down just as honestly. "Ah, so good to see you, ladies. Truly, there are few so beautiful in all of Vale."

"Oh, Roman," Melanie simpered.

Miltia giggled. "You know _just_ what to say."

The goons alongside Jaune shuffled awkwardly, but none of them dared speak. The situation was bizarre enough as it was, and no matter how he acted, Roman was a criminal more than capable of killing someone who annoyed him.

Or someone who he found out was a spy working for Vale.

Jaune swallowed again.

"So," Roman said, "These are the hopefuls Junior has managed to scrape together, huh? They don't look like much. Doesn't look like they have a brain between them."

Some of the men bristled, but Jaune tried to stay still.

"Well, you've already got some of our best working for you," Junior called, returning with a brightly coloured drink. "You wanted muscle, right? That's what these guys are. If you want brains, you should have let me know."

Roman sipped the drink and smiled. "True. No point getting upset over it, I guess. I need hands and feet – but brains are optional. So, come on boys…" Roman held both arms wide and gestured to the assembled men. "Who here thinks they've got what it takes to be part of _my_ crew?"

"I do!"

"Me!"

"I'll do it!"

People stepped forward quickly, slamming hands against their chests, arguing, or otherwise proclaiming why they would be the best. The noise increased, people trying to compete against one another. It was during this that Jaune realised he hadn't followed suit, and that others had noticed.

"You're pretty quiet over there," Roman said, strolling up to him. The thief stopped a few paces away and smirked. "You don't think you've got what it takes?"

 _Crap. What do I say?_ Jaune tried to remain calm, fighting the urge to turn and run. There was no need to be afraid. Roman had no idea who he was, and never would. All he had to do was play the part that was expected of him.

He nodded. "I think I'm good enough."

"Oh? You're not very loud about it."

"I guess I didn't see the point in yelling. You've not told us what you want us for, so how can anyone say with any certainty that they're ready for it."

Roman looked at him for a moment, and then his shoulders rose and fell. It looked like he was laughing, though he didn't make a sound.

"Not bad, kid," he said, grinning. "Maybe I wasn't quite right. Maybe someone _does_ have a brain. Tell me, then. Why should I be interested in you? What makes you stand out?"

"I have my aura unlocked."

There wasn't much point hiding that, since Roman would be able to tell the first time he took a hit. It would just make him on edge if it came out in the middle of nowhere. Better to make it a boast instead, and he _did_ need to convince Roman to take him on, after all.

"You do?" Roman looked like he didn't believe him for a second. There was very little warning before he lashed out – and Jaune buckled over the fist buried in his stomach, gasping for breath. "Huh," Roman said, retracting. "You do. Not bad, kid. You got a name?"

"J-John White," he hissed through gritted teeth.

"John White, sir," Roman corrected, "though I'll let it go since you're out of breath. Well, I've got to say, that makes you a little more appealing. How did you get that unlocked? You got training?"

"I wanted to be a huntsman, sir. I wasn't strong enough."

"You failed one of the Academy's initiations?"

Jaune shook his head. "I didn't even get that far."

"Ah, not good enough to be accepted. Tough break, White. So, why does a huntsman wannabe turn to a life of crime?"

"An orphan has to make ends meet," Jaune said with fake bitterness. "It's not like I know anything else. I'm not sure what else I can use the few skills I have for."

"Practicality, huh?" Roman looked him up and down. "You sure you're not out for revenge? Might feel good to get your own back on the school that turned you down."

"That… would be a little suicidal of me," Jaune pointed out. "No disrespect, sir."

"Ha, none taken." Roman threw back his head and laughed. "Last thing I want is some half-cocked disaster waiting to happen." He stepped past Jaune and away, talking to the others. "You hear that, you idiots? You might all think you're ready, but you're not. Loud mouthed, arrogant, and over-confident. You're all cocksure idiots and nothing more. But I…? I can make you something more."

Roman slammed his cane down, silencing the room.

" _If_ you follow my instructions and do _exactly_ what I say. I am the mastermind criminal. I am the one wanted in every Kingdom. I am the one in charge, and that's for a damned reason. Understood?"

"Yes!" the crowd called. Jaune joined in.

"I'm not here for the next big thing," he went on. "I'm not here for master thieves or expert hackers. I'm here for muscle and what little wit you have. Follow me, and you'll be rewarded. Try to do shit on your own and you'll be arrested. I won't slow down for idiots who want to ruin a heist by getting too big for their boots. I'm running a criminal organisation here, not an RP group." He paused to look over them all. "If you think you can handle that, step forward."

Jaune was the first to do so, although every other followed him a second later. Not one stood behind. Part of him thought Roman would be pleased with that, but he didn't look it. He scowled at them all.

"Yeah, sure. What else did I expect?"

"We're in?" someone asked warily.

Roman laughed. "In? Oh, no. Oh, _hell_ no." He wiped an arm across his face, as though to brush away tears. "You think I'd let you into a group like mine just like that? You must be crazy, that or on drugs. Why don't we let our resident grade-A student field this one?" He turned to Jaune, and waved his cane mockingly. "Come on, White. What do you think comes next? Stretch that brain a little and show me what you're made of."

He didn't have to. The answer was obvious. If not from how Oobleck had told him to do whatever was necessary, to the simple fact that he'd gone through the exact same when he'd joined the VSS. They might have been on separate sides of the law, but both Roman and Oobleck were still running clandestine organisations. Their methods would be similar.

"A test," Jaune said, sighing. "You want to test us."

Roman's smile was both pleased, _and_ vicious.

"Someone give the man a prize. Or better yet, give the man a gun. We're going out to see how you lot fare first hand. Those who prove their mettle, and their loyalty, will be rewarded. Those that don't?" Roman smiled. "Well, let's just hope you prove yourselves."

/-/

Jaune remained silent in the back of the van. An unmarked black vehicle he'd been bundled into, along with several others he'd seen the rest mount. They hurtled down the streets, though he had no idea where. Oobleck could probably track him based on some kind of bug he'd almost certainly slipped on the outfit, but surrounded by thieves and crooks, he had no way to make contact.

Worse still, Roman had decided to push Jaune into the same van he was in, and the man currently sat opposite him, arms crossed and a cigar hanging from his lips. The acrid scent filled the small cabin, and wasn't nearly as unpleasant as he'd imagined it to be.

"See something you like?" Roman asked, meeting his gaze.

"J-Just thinking about your cigar," Jaune answered honestly. "I've never seen one like it before."

"Premium brand, White. Shipped from Vacuo. The country is full of sand and deserts, bar a few oasis's that dot the landscape. Nothing good comes out of that place, at least normally, but they make some of the finest tobacco on Remnant." Roman sighed blissfully, apparently more than willing to chat about something he found interesting. "It's the most expensive too, of course, but stick with me and prove your mettle, and one day you might be able to afford to indulge like this."

Jaune nodded. "Sounds nice."

"That goes for the rest of you too," Roman called. "You're coming in as the lowest of the low, but that doesn't mean there aren't rewards aplenty. How do you think I keep my men loyal? Killing and terrifying them? Ha, I'd get a dagger in my back faster than you could blink. Work for me and I'll make it work. It's busy and dangerous work, but it pays well."

"What will we be doing for this test, sir?" a nervous man with a beard asked. His lip quivered, taking away from any attempt to appear more masculine. "If it's okay for me to ask…"

"You'll be doing what we always do, pal. Not much point me testing you on anything else." Roman paused to take a long drag and let it go, puffing sweet-scented smoke about the cabin. "Each vehicle will drop off at a different dust store. Your job is simple. Get in, subdue or intimidate the owner, collect all the dust you can, and then escape via the vehicle you came in. It'll be parked where we leave you."

The man's face brightened up. "Will you be coming with our group?"

"No such luck, friend." Roman teased, delighting in the way his smile fell. "What kind of test would it be if I did it for you? I'll be nearby, but I won't be watching. I have my own work in the area. We're merely sharing vehicles for now."

The van came to a halt, and Roman stepped over to push the doors open. They were parked in a dark alleyway, out of sight of the road. No one seemed to have noticed them though, and Jaune breathed a sigh of relief.

"Okay," Roman called, "Come on out. Your target is literally out the alley and a hundred metres down the road. Don't really remember the name of the place, but you can't miss it, big glass-fronted building selling dust. If you rob the bakery, you've gone too far and you're all idiots." He brushed by them, tapping his hand on the side of the van. "I'll leave you to it, gentlemen. Make me proud."

Jaune watched him go, and turned his eyes towards his new `colleagues`. The six or so men looked between themselves, and then instantly started to argue about who was in charge, what they would do – and who was going to take the credit afterwards.

Jaune sighed.

 _I've got a feeling this is going to go about as well as I expect it to._

He hoped he was wrong.

/-/

"It's fine, Yang," Ruby laughed, scroll held before her as she strolled down the street. "I'm in downtown Vale, and it's not even ten. I'm fifteen – and a huntress-in-training. What's going to happen?"

" _That's what you said the last time,"_ Yang countered, _"And you ended up fighting against Roman Torchwick. And you got taken to the police station!"_

"And that got me into Beacon. Also, you totally can't hold the police thing over me – you trashed a nightclub. The fact you _weren't_ taken to a police station is ridiculous."

" _Ruby-"_

"And you drank and drove!"

" _It was a single sip of a strawberry sunrise. That isn't drink driving."_ Yang sighed audibly and rubbed her head. _"Just be careful, sis. I know you can look after yourself, but it's late and even if you can beat up some molester, that doesn't mean I want you to run into one."_

Yeah, neither did she. Ruby's lips pinched together at the thought. There wasn't much chance of that, though. Like she'd said, she was in the fairly high population area, it wasn't late, and streetlights illuminated the entire area. Besides, she was almost there anyway.

"I'll be fine, Yang," she repeated – not for the first time. "I'm just going to go in, buy some dust, then I'll be out. I won't even stop to read magazines this time, I promise."

Yang nodded. _"Alright, Rubes. See you soon."_

Ruby waved with her spare hand as the call ended. She stowed her scroll away with a little laugh. Really, she loved her sister, but Yang could be _such_ a worry-wart. What was the worst that could happen? It wasn't like she ran into Torchwick every time she went shopping. Right…?

Either way, she had Crescent Rose with her just in case.

* * *

 **Yep, that roller coaster is about to happen. I've been a little distracted today, since I've been out for much of the day, so this comes out a tiny bit later than usual. Anyway, on with life, and time to move onto writing Forged Destiny.**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 1** **st** **October**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	11. Chapter 11

**Okay, wow, so this weekend turned into not a weekend at all for me for other work-related stuff. You know it's bad when you think "Thank God it's Sunday. I get to relax at work tomorrow." Very sad, lol. All in all, that meant I had to rush this chapter quite a bit, but I think it gets the main points out of the way.**

* * *

 **Chapter 11**

* * *

The shopkeeper knew something was wrong the moment they entered. It must have been obvious, that many people dressed identically entering a small store late at night and fanning out to cover all the entrances and exits. Jaune flipped the sign on the door open so it read closed, while another goon lowered the blinds on the windows.

The elderly shopkeeper backed away nervously.

"Let's not make any sudden moves, old man," the goon who had somehow come out as their leader said. He gripped the old man by the collar and pulled him close, pressing a handgun to his temple. "I'm sure you get the drill. Co-operate and you'll come out unhurt. Fail, and I might have to put you down. Understood?"

The old man nodded.

The gun pressed in a little harder. "I _said_ , do you understand!?"

"I-I-I…"

Jaune slapped his hand on top of the gun, pushing it down and away. The older good glared at him, but he shook his head and stared right back. "I think he understands. Let it go."

The old man nodded furiously.

"You're not the boss here, _John_." The man sneered, somehow making his alias sound like an insult. "I'm the one in charge and I'm the one making the shots. If I say we kill the old man, we kill him. If I say jump, you ask how high."

"Killing him won't help us here," Jaune tried to reason. "He's already terrified."

The brown-haired man snarled wordlessly and thrust the shopkeeper away, knocking him into a wall. The old man slid down it, one hand clutched to his chest. Any thoughts to his safety were soon washed away as Jaune was shoved back by meaty hands.

"You think you're hot shit because Torchwick called you out? Don't make me laugh. I've been doing this for years and no up-start kid is going to come along and question _my_ orders."

"I'm not questioning them. I'm just saying our job is to steal dust, not frighten old men to death."

Some of the others around them seemed to agree, one or two looking rather nervous despite them outnumbering the shopkeeper and being armed. There was no telling how many were in over their heads, or doing this because they felt there was no other option. That didn't excuse them, but it did make him realise just how young and stupid most of these guys were.

All except the middle-aged man who towered over him, lips peeled back around gritted teeth.

"So long as you're with me, we're doing this my way," he hissed. "I won't have you ruining my chance to get into Torchwick's crew."

"I'm not-" He cut off as something heavy slammed into his chest, knocking the wind out of him. It was a stainless-steel suitcase, and he caught it instinctively.

"Fill that up if you want to keep bitching about the dust. I'll see if I can get the man's safe combination off him."

"The safe? Why? We're here for dust, not li-"

The man shoved him away harshly. "Get moving! Focus on the dust, all of you. I'll handle the important stuff."

"Yes, sir!" Most of them started moving immediately, following whoever shouted the loudest. That left Jaune standing alone with suitcase in hand, watching as the goon walked over to the frightened shopkeeper. His hand tightened on the handle of the case, but there was little he could do. One man's fear wasn't worth risking his mission for.

The VSS had to focus on saving all of Vale.

Still, as he ducked his head guiltily and moved away, he kept an eye on them. Mission or not, if that arrogant guy looked like he was going to kill the old man, he would step in. Oobleck would be pissed, but there would be more opportunities. He wasn't going to stand by while someone was killed in front of him.

 _This whole thing is a complete mess,_ he thought, opening the suitcase and pulling a glass vial to a dust dispenser. It began to slowly fill. _I'm supposed to be a huntsman stopping criminals, not someone working with them._

One vial filled quickly enough, and he put it into the soft, protected case before he drew another and got to work again. Others took the slots around him, draining dust wherever they could while their esteemed leader grilled the store's owner. It didn't look like that was going well if his mounting anger was any indication. On the bright side, he'd apparently realised he couldn't – or shouldn't – kill the old man.

 _I guess I can look forward to getting him arrested, at least. Sooner or later we'll raid these people, once I gather the information we need._ The thought cheered him, and he hid a grin as he continued filling the canister. It would be a glorious moment to see the arrogance wiped off his face, and even better to know that John, the `kid`, was the one responsible.

Of course, that relied on Roman not figuring him out first and sending him to the bottom of the Vale harbour with cement blocks tied to his feet. Any ease he had now at blending in wouldn't mean much if Roman took him into his crew. They would be far more dangerous, not to mention paranoid. If they got a hint that he was a double agent…? Yeah, best not to think about that.

The dust unit he was draining ran dry after the third canister, and he picked his way across the store with a sigh to find another. As he did, his eyes caught a leg draw back behind a shelf. It didn't do much to hide the person, not with the heavy breathing that indicated panic. No one else had noticed their added guest and he considered ignoring her, too.

That might be dangerous, though. If this person got it in their head to try and make a run for it, one of the others might panic and shoot them. If they didn't have aura, it would be the end for the poor soul.

"Damn it…" Jaune sighed and picked his way over, placing one hand atop the shelf as he stepped around it. His eyes, hidden behind his red glasses, trailed down to a young girl, around sixteen or so, dressed in what looked to be a store uniform.

She stared up at him in horror, legs drawn up to her chest.

"Hey, there's no need to be afraid." He crouched down to look a little less frightening, but it didn't do much. She drew into a tighter ball, and her eyes watered. He winced and attempted to calm her down. "Look, just stay still and let us go about our job, okay? We'll be gone soon, and you won't be hurt. I promise."

She didn't look like she believed him. To be fair, he wouldn't have believed him either if their positions were reversed. Nothing he said or did would have changed his mind, and it certainly wasn't hers.

It hurt to have her look at him with such unbridled fear, but he reminded himself it was for the betterment of Vale. For her own good, really. With a sigh and a shake of the head, he stood back up and moved away, holding a finger to his lips to tell her to be quiet. If he couldn't convince her to trust him, the least he could do was hurry the whole thing up so she could relax once they were all gone. He moved over to another dust unit and started to drain it.

A gunshot echoed behind him.

"The next one takes your head off!" the goon in charge threatened, holding the handgun which had smoke coming from its barrel. The old man was alive, but there was a hole by the side of his head, cutting through plaster and brick. "Do you want to die for a little lien? Give us the combination or I'll make sure the next shot doesn't miss!"

"W-Whoah man, calm down," one of the others whispered.

A stern glare from the leader silenced him, but a few others looked to Jaune, or John, their expressions hopeful. The message was clear. As the only one who felt confident enough to stand up to him, they wanted him to intervene.

Wonderful…

"Why did you open fire?"

"Shut the fuck up, John. I told you I'm the one in charge."

"Do you have any idea how much noise you just made?" Jaune asked, nodding towards the street. "That's not something people are going to ignore."

"So? We'll be gone in a few minutes. The police can't mobilise that quickly."

"That's not the point…" Jaune sighed and placed his briefcase on the side, sliding the final canister in and clicking it shut. He left it there and picked his way through the store towards the leader. His hand slipped to his side as he did, touching the hilt of his dagger. If it came to a fight, he was ready. A swift strike with the pommel to the head would probably knock him out, and it wasn't like the handgun would mean much against his aura.

Compared to Oobleck, the guy was a chump. But he could still be reasoned with. Hopefully.

"Roman's instructions were to get the dust and get out, not to rob the place for cash, and definitely not to kill someone. There's a difference between the police chasing us for theft and murder." He came to a stop five or so paces from the man. They stared at one another through their crimson glasses. "I'd rather not be hunted all across Vale for killing someone. Put the gun down."

He didn't. He turned and raised it to point at Jaune instead.

"And if I don't?"

Jaune scowled. "Then I-"

"Then _I'll_ stop you!" a new voice crowed, right as a loud shot echoed through the store. Glass shattered and something struck the man's gun from the side, sending it hurtling from his hand. It was followed by a red blur a second later, and a pair of boots which caught him in the face, sending him flying through the air.

The figure landed atop the counter, cutting them off from the old man behind. She twirled her weapon before her, deploying it out into its full, scythe form.

Jaune swallowed his panic – and nearly choked on it.

Ruby…

Not good.

"H-Huntress!"

"Should we run?"

"How did she find us?" the leader howled, rubbing one cheek. "Never mind. She's just a kid, so she can't be a Huntress. Deal with her, you idiots!"

The goons gathered their wits and raised their weapons, and Ruby swayed to the side as a hail of bullets raked the wall behind her. It didn't do much to her confidence, and she laughed as she hopped over one man and cut him down with a sweep to the back of his legs. He fell screaming, and she was off again, chasing after another.

One man hadn't joined the fight, however. He knew better. With panic coursing through him and the reality of Ruby Rose behind, Jaune pushed his way through the mass of bodies and dashed for the exit. Honour among thieves and all that. He had to get out before he was caught. Even if the VSS could get him out of prison, being exposed as a criminal would ruin him. He'd never be allowed back in Beacon.

He reached the door and tore it open, but hesitated to flee out into the cold night air. If he went back empty-handed, Roman wouldn't be pleased. If Roman didn't take him on, the mission would be a bust, and they might not get another chance to sneak an Agent into his forces.

If that happened, there was no telling what it might mean. More dust for the White Fang and whatever they wanted it for. People injured, hurt, maybe even killed. His team, his friends, maybe even his family if this spread far enough. With a frustrated scowl, Jaune slammed the door shut and turned back around.

Ruby was kicking ass, but that was fine. He didn't need to fight her. His eyes landed instead on the briefcase of dust he'd filled, still sat on the counter over by the back wall. He tried to calculate how fast Ruby was tearing through the others compared to how long it would take him to reach it and get back out. Maths had never been his strong point, however, and Ruby was cleaning house even as he tried to think.

"Damn it!"

He shook his head and charged in, hopping over a fallen shelf and ducking as a red and black suited man flew over his head. He kept it low, too, trying to avoid attention. Ruby wouldn't kill him if she hit him, but she'd stun him for a few seconds, and that might be enough for her to dart over and knock him out.

He tried not to think of that as he reached the wall and grabbed the suitcase. "Got you," he whispered, pulling back to run. As he did, something caught his legs and he tumbled with a sharp cry to hit the tiled floor. "Argh! Oof!"

"Ow…"

That voice wasn't his, nor any of the other men. It was too light, too feminine. For a second, he thought it might be Ruby, and looked up in horror, but the eyes that stared back were too colourful. The girl from before sat next to him, and her mouth opened as she realised he'd found her once more.

He slapped a hand over her mouth before she could scream. It didn't do much for her opinion of him, however, and she thrashed wildly, bucking against his body and striking her head back into his face. Aura tanked the blow, but it still hurt.

"Calm down!" he hissed, sharper this time. "I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to get out of here. If I take my hand off your mouth, will you stay quiet?"

The terrified girl nodded.

"You won't scream?"

She shook her head.

"Good. I'm taking my hand off now. Just stay calm and don't do anything silly."

He gently removed his hand.

"AIYEEEEEEE-"

And slapped it back on again. A little too late, obviously, for the wailing sound pierced through that of combat, and drew every single person's attention to him, crouched by the back wall, with one hand over an innocent woman's mouth, and the other holding her still. It didn't take a genius to realise what it looked like, and he glowered down at his `helpless prisoner`.

"This really isn't my day."

/-/

This really wasn't her day.

Ruby had come out planning to grab some dust and had instead run into the exact thing she'd assured her sister she wouldn't. Worse, it looked like it was Torchwick's goons again, though the man himself was missing. That was probably a good thing.

Still, she'd leapt into action to save the day – even making a cool one-liner entrance – and quickly dispatched most of the thugs. The old man, who seemed to own a lot of stores, was unharmed, the dust hadn't yet been stolen, and this time – this time – she wouldn't let the bad guys escape like Torchwick had.

And then things started to go wrong.

"AIYEEEE!"

Ruby spun on the spot as she heard the scream, Crescent Rose folding back into its sniper form as she prepared to save whoever it was from whatever it was. The details didn't really matter. To her horror, however, she found herself looking down her sights at a hostage situation. She also found a rather random thought flitting through her mind.

 _Miss Goodwitch never covered hostage situations in class. Why is the stuff I need never a lesson!?_

Crescent Rose fell. Not to the floor, but enough to show she wasn't going to shoot. She couldn't. Not with an innocent woman in the way. She had no idea if the girl had aura or not, and a single move from the black-haired goon, a single twitch, might pull the girl in front of a bullet.

"Let her go," she called.

"Don't let her go!" a loud, brash voice yelled. It was the guy she'd hit earlier, the one she'd sent flying. He seemed older than the hostage-taker, and his glasses were shattered. "Good work, John. Looks like you can manage something after all. Keep her busy while we escape."

So saying, the man and the others fled the store, each of them keeping a wide berth from her – not that she'd risk the hostage's safety by doing anything to stop them. The shop owner had already ducked into a back room. _I hope he's called the police. This is way out of my depth._

After just sixty seconds or so, the store filled with bad guys had been reduced to just her and one other, with a young woman trapped between them.

Ruby's fingers played along the haft of her scythe as she looked for an opening.

"Let her go," she called. "She doesn't deserve this."

"Will you let me go if I do?" he asked. His voice was soft, almost familiar, but she'd have known someone with hair that shade. The only guy she knew like that was Ren, and his figure was all wrong. He sounded young, though. Almost her age.

"Yes. I'll let you go."

"You're not very good at lying, are you?"

Ruby growled in embarrassed frustration, cursing her Mom's lessons for the first time in her life. Lying was bad, you should never lie – yeah, thanks, Mom. Thanks, Dad. Turned out there were some cases where knowing how to lie was actually very good.

"The second I let go of her, you're going to attack."

"But you could get a head start," she offered. "I'd have to make sure she was okay first."

"You have a speed Semblance…"

Ruby flushed again, annoyed to have been caught out, even as she was surprised he knew about her at all. Had Torchwick told him? Oh God, what if every criminal in the Kingdom knew her by name, face and favourite cookie flavour?

A siren began to wail in the distance, and Ruby smiled as she heard it.

He couldn't hold on to her forever. Unlike him, she didn't have a time limit on the fight. Sure, the others would get away, but they kind of already had by now. She just had to keep him in one place until the good guys arrived. Hopefully, it would be Miss Goodwitch again. Or would that be a bad thing? Last time she'd said she'd send Ruby home if it were her choice. Now that she was her teacher, the stern woman probably _could_ throw a bunch of punishments at her.

No, wait. Focus. Focus on the dangerous hostage thing.

 _Yang's going to freak when she hears about this…_

One minute ticked by, and then two. It was he who made the first move, his left leg sliding a little to the side. He drew the hostage with him, but Ruby followed, making it clear she would head him off at the door if he tried. He wouldn't be able to outrun her.

Could she get close enough to fire a certain shot without him pulling her in front? It was hard to say. She was confident in her aim, but not that confident. He had a knife in his other hand, too. He hadn't yet brought it to the girl's neck, but he could. Ruby clenched her teeth together and prayed help would arrive faster. She just had to be patient.

He couldn't make a move, and neither could she.

Unfortunately, they both forgot about the third person in their little tableau. The hostage had been shaking before, but was now ramrod still. Her eyes were wide, alarmed, maybe even desperate. With one hand over her mouth, she couldn't speak – but Ruby saw the moment at which fear gave way to desperation. Saw the girl open her mouth wide.

She shook her head, trying to tell her not to do anything. It wasn't worth the risk. He might kill her! The girl didn't listen. Her eyes closed and she struck – biting down as hard as she could.

"YOW!"

The suited goon let go of her, waving his hand in the air to try and ease the pain. Only a second later did he realise his mistake, for the girl fell to her knees – and Ruby dragged Crescent Rose up. His head snapped back as the round impacted his forehead, driving him back and over a shelving unit. He flipped once in the air and disappeared.

"Are you okay?" Ruby asked, darting forwards at Semblance-enhanced speed. She didn't wait for an answer, but instead wrapped an arm around the girl and dragged her back, at a slower speed, of course. She didn't want to hurt her. "Hide behind the counter, or go into the back room with the old man. I'll handle this."

"T-Thank you," the frightened girl whispered.

Ruby grinned back. "Nah, thank _you_. You did good!"

The girl smiled weakly and nodded, throwing herself over the counter and crawling away. Ruby covered her for a second, just in case, but soon turned her gaze back to where she knew the guy still was. The shot had hit him dead-on, and she treaded carefully towards the shelf he'd gone behind. She didn't hear anything. He was probably unconscious.

As she stepped near, her feet crunched against some spilled dust, making a light, crackling noise.

The entire shelf tipped towards her.

"Whoa!" Ruby darted back, dodging it by instinct alone, but she was left unprepared as a glass jar flew towards her head. She had the time to bring an arm up, and to yelp as it shattered on her. Covering her face proved a mistake, however, for something heavy crashed into her stomach. A shoulder hit her and an arm wrapped about her waist, carrying her back several feet before her back smashed into a stone pillar. The air was forced from her lungs. "GAH!"

N-Not like this. Ruby brought Crescent Rose up. The blade was too far away to bring to use, as he had his body pinned against hers, but she was able to jerk the shaft up between his legs in a move Yang had told her would end most fights with guys.

Her opponent gasped, and sagged against her for a second, enough time for her to wriggle out of his grasp. Even if he didn't fall, the seconds he gave her were enough, and she darted away with her Semblance, putting distance between them once more. Her eyes narrowed as she watched him, her heart suddenly beating a little faster.

He was good.

He was trained.

It should have been obvious from how he didn't panic when she first appeared, but that could have just been bravery. Taking a shot from her sniper scythe and keeping going might have just been a decent aura supply. The fact he'd seen her weapon for all of five minutes but had already figured out her effective range and sought to lessen it?

That was no coincidence. That was the kind of thing Yang pulled all the time, closing in to melee so she couldn't shoot, and couldn't use her longer weapon effectively. That he'd thought to do that was proof enough he had some kind of training, and not as an everyday criminal.

He fought like a Huntsman.

Or, well, like a Huntsman at the level of her. If he'd been as tough as her Uncle Qrow, she'd have been toast already.

"Who are you?" she asked.

He hesitated, but didn't answer. Instead, he slid his foot a little closer. Ruby took a step back, making it clear she'd noticed. _I could switch back to sniper and shoot, but he'd use the time that takes to close the distance and I'd have to switch back._ She idly looked about the ruined store and scratched off that idea for another reason. Way too much loose dust to be firing off random shots. She'd learned her lesson from Weiss, thank you very much.

Crescent Rose flashed through the air, the blade coming in towards his head. He ducked and stepped forward, but this time she was prepared and matched his pace, keeping him at the optimal distance as she brought the blade around and under his arm. It caught his flank, scraping against his ribs and no doubt scoring another chunk off his aura. Completing a twirl, she brought it around from the other side for a third strike, but this one he managed to clumsily parry and knock aside.

She let it go. No point getting involved in a fight of strength if she didn't have to. She backed up, instead, making sure to keep herself between him and the exit. One of the other doors might have led out too, but it just as easily might not. If he got stuck in a storeroom, that would be even better. Either way, she knew he wouldn't take that risk unless it was his last chance.

With the police getting ever closer, it might soon be.

The frustration showed on his face, too. With a frown, he rushed in, taking two blows to his torso before he managed to break through her guard. Ruby backpedalled as best she could, but her heel hit something behind her and she stumbled. It was enough for him to cover the distance and reach out to grab her.

She managed to elbow his hand aside so he couldn't catch her hood, but he caught something else instead. His hand settled around the haft of Crescent Rose, gripping it between her hands and immobilising her.

She twisted it quickly, a move her uncle had shown her. By doing so, she twisted his wrist, and also snapped both her arms into his, forcing him to let go. His strength was too much, however, and he managed to settle another hand on the haft and stop her moving it at all. He tried to headbutt her, but she ducked to the side and kneed him in the thigh instead.

Their fight descended into a panicked and struggling melee. Neither could use their weapons, but she couldn't escape since if she activated her Semblance and he kept hold of her scythe, she'd be as like to break her hands as get away. It would be whether his grip or hers failed first, and she was fairly sure it wouldn't be his.

Without her scythe, she was as good as useless. She could run away, but there was no chance – no chance at all – that she was letting Roman Torchwick get a hold of her baby!

"Let go!" she growled, kicking out at him.

"Stop aiming for my groin!"

"Give me back my scythe!"

"Let me escape!"

"No!"

They twisted and writhed against each other. He managed to spin her and bring the haft of her own weapon up against her, forcing them into a situation where her back was to his chest and he was almost trying to strangle her with her own weapon. Ruby had the foresight to bring an arm up between it and her neck, ruining the move. He'd have to drag it through her aura, flesh and bone – none of which would happen anytime soon. In the meanwhile, she could still breathe, and better yet, she smashed the back of her head into his chin. Once, twice, three times before he growled something under his breath and pushed his head back against her, forcing her chin against her breasts. She dug her heel into his foot instead and twisted it.

He howled in pain and scratched at her hands, trying to dislodge her grip. She held on tight, however. Just a little longer. Reinforcements were on their way.

The goon realised it, too. His head shot up as he heard a siren getting nearer, and he gave up on trying to break her grip entirely. Instead, his hand slid down the haft, towards the trigger. Her eyes widened as she realised his plan.

"Don't-"

Too late. In desperation, he pulled the trigger, discharging a shot to the left, which tore through a display cabinet filled with glass jars. The two of them jerked to the side from the recoil, spinning into another unit and toppling it over in an explosion of smoke and dust.

"Argh, why are there so many display units!?" she cried.

Oh wait… it was a dust shop. Never mind.

Something struck her face in the smoke, and she took a wild guess as to where he was and kicked back. Her foot hit something soft and she heard a sound that told her she'd struck somewhere important. Determined to not let him escape, she threw herself forward, all limbs and flailing hands. Something warm and soft hit her and she wrapped around it, pushing with all her remaining strength. It wasn't much, but he must have been exhausted as well. With a startled cry, they both toppled over, smashing yet more vials beneath them, and kicking up a cloud that covered the entire area.

Ruby coughed as the smoke and dust settled, and then coughed again as she realised the dust surrounding them had taken on an altogether different meaning. They'd crashed through a shelf together, and broken glass littered the floor. Its contents, various forms of dust, now sprinkled down around them, settling over his form beneath her.

"Surrender!" Ruby cried, triumph overtaking her as she realised she'd won. She had him. She'd done it. Not the cleanest of victories, but hey, he hadn't gotten away and no one had been hurt. She'd take it. "You can't get away and the police are as good as here. Give up."

The crook's face twisted. His nose twitched.

"A-Ah-Ah-"

Ruby's eyes widened. Memories of Beacon flooded back, of a time before initiation – a time she still remembered with horror and embarrassment. She shook her head quickly, waving her hands to try and clear the dust from the air.

It wasn't enough.

"Ah-ah!"

"T-That's not a good idea! Don't sneeze!"

"AH-CHOO!"

Deja-vu was not kind. Ruby heard _something_ … it was hard to distinguish because it was an explosion mixed with thunder, mixed with ice crackling, and a little popping for good measure. What she _felt_ was altogether different and much more immediate. She was flung back so hard she struck the ceiling, and then fell to the side as a secondary explosion propelled her further back. Her side hit something hard, probably a shelving unit, and she yelped as it gave way, cracking under her small frame.

It lasted for all of twenty seconds, but it felt like longer. The stench of ozone and ash filled the air, and she coughed again as smoke, actual smoke this time, filled her lungs.

"I-Is everyone okay?" the elderly shopkeeper called.

"Define okay," Ruby grumbled, before she raised her voice. "I'm okay. Are you and your daughter alright?"

"I'm fine, young lass."

Relief rushed through her. Thank goodness. She didn't know what she'd do if this had hurt one of them. The old man's following words wiped her good mood away instantly, however.

"A shame about the crook, though…"

Huh? Ruby blinked for a moment before her eyes shot open and she gasped. The criminal! With a panicked cry, she dragged herself out of the heap of jars and wooden shelves and dashed through the smoke towards where she'd been fighting the suited man a moment earlier. When she arrived, Crescent Rose dropped a little.

He was gone. He'd escaped.

"Aww, come on…"

/-/

When Jaune limped back to the place Roman had told him the vans were waiting, he was surprised to see it still there, but not quite so surprised to find the goons from earlier telling Roman a markedly different version of events. The thief saw him come around the corner and leaned back against the wall, saluting with a single cigar.

"Ho, John," he called. "I heard you were done for. Your friends just finished convincing me to leave without you."

"I'm not surprised," Jaune snarled back. Any fear and guilt he'd felt had been replaced with cold fury, and he elbowed his way through the nervous men. "Here," he said, hauling a stainless-steel suitcase towards Roman. "Take it."

To his annoyance, Roman caught it without batting an eyelid. He cracked it open and whistled at the twenty or so vials cushioned within. He'd had the sense to snatch it on the way out, knowing Oobleck would be upset if he didn't pass Roman's little test.

"You brought the dust," the thief remarked. He sounded genuinely surprised. "I heard a huntress arrived."

"She did. I fought her."

"You win?"

"No." Jaune pushed by and slumped into one of the seats, panting heavily. "I escaped but that was it. The whole point of this was the dust, right? There it is."

"I need more than this, kiddo."

"Then talk to _them_ about it." He waved at the assembled men, who were looking as nervous as they were empty-handed. When Roman's gaze turned their way, they shuffled and muttered between themselves.

"Oh, I intend to," Roman smirked. He twirled his cane and planted it into the concrete, addressing the mob. "So, boys. Tell me. Why is it only one of you came back with the goods? I'm fairly sure my specific instructions were to hold the shop up. What went wrong?"

"It was a Huntress, sir," one complained. "She was dressed in full red with a huge scythe. There was nothing we could do!"

"Again, Red? You just love causing me problems." He shook his head and raised his voice. "So, a Huntress arrives, and you all run away with your tails tucked between your legs – which makes sense, it really does. Tell me then, why did John stay behind?"

"H-He took someone hostage to let us get away."

Roman cocked an eyebrow and looked back. "You didn't kill her, did you?"

Jaune shook his head.

"Good. We don't need that kind of heat. Still, kiddo, I like it." He smirked and turned back. "So, while John here has someone hostage and the Huntress dealt with, why didn't you grab the dust? Seems a good time for it to me."

Their silence was telling.

"I'm guessing that's a no, then. So, you run away, you leave one of your guys behind, and you don't even bring me a single speck of dust to show for it. Meanwhile, your little pal here not only saves your asses, but gets away _and_ brings me a single case." Roman tossed it back into the van, where it slid across the floor. "Not much, I'll admit, but beggars can't be choosers when a Huntress gets involved. It's more than can be said for you idiots. What's your excuse?"

The constant taunting proved too much for the self-elected leader of their little group, who stepped forward with a furious snarl.

"He didn't follow orders! He got us in this situation in the first place!"

"Oh?"

"Go to hell," Jaune shot back. "You wanted to cripple the shopkeeper. What good would that have done? We were there to steal dust, not kill people."

"It would have stopped him calling the police!"

"Gentlemen, gentlemen," Roman stepped between them, smiling widely. "Eyes on me, please. John. Take a rest in there for a second. Friend, what's your name?"

"Mark," the man replied.

"Mark, good. You don't mind if I call you Mark?"

"No, sir."

"Good, good." Roman nodded to himself and turned away. "One thing, though…"

He spun back around suddenly, swinging out his cane. It connected with Mark's jaw and broke it instantly, sending teeth flying as he fell to the floor. The transition from relaxed to violent was so sudden even Jaune flinched.

"I hate mouthy people." Roman dusted off his cane, wiping blood and spittle away. "Do you know what I hate even more? Failure." He regarded the assembled men, all traces of the gentleman thief absent from his cold eyes. In the distance sirens began to howl, but no one dared look away from Roman Torchwick. "I gave you a very specific task. A simple task. It wasn't for you to argue between yourselves, nor to let arrogance turn it into a pissing contest. I didn't appoint a leader because you didn't _need_ a leader. It was an in and out job, and the problem is, I only see one person who got the _out_ part down correctly."

"S-Sir…"

"Now, now, there's no need to explain yourselves. I think your actions speak for themselves." Roman stepped back, smiling once more as he crouched down to enter the van. "You boys were just in the wrong business. That's all. Not everyone's cut out for this kind of work. That's nothing to be ashamed of. As your potential employer, I think you're best suited for a different role." He turned back and called past Jaune. "Drive. Get us out of here."

The van sprung to life.

The assembled goons panicked.

"No, no," Torchwick chuckled, kicking one man out as he tried to climb in. "I'm afraid this ride is one way, and you boys don't have tickets. Like I said, there's a different job position for you." He nodded in the direction of the approaching police. "It even comes with free room and board. Enjoy."

"P-Please, no!"

"We can do better."

"Give us another chance!"

Roman laughed and slammed the door shut, then turned away and ignored the fingers scrabbling against it, trying to gain entry. He clicked the lock shut with a shake of his head, and moved over to sit opposite Jaune, who had remained both still and very, very silent.

When the van began to pull away, he did his best to ignore the terrified screams of those left behind.

"Well, that was interesting." Roman pulled out a cigar and lit it, filling the suddenly less cramped cabin with smoke. "I'll be honest, kiddo. One case really isn't enough. I expect more."

"Then why am I not out there with them?"

"Because given what happened, even one case is a miracle." He grinned. "Enough so for me to be impressed. So, what do you say, kid? You ready for life in the big league?"

Not at all.

Jaune bit down on the guilt, the frustration, even the horror of those left behind – who he'd hated, but who had still in some twisted way been his comrades. He bit down on all of it and forced a smile out instead. It was weak, wavering and filled with dread.

The VSS demanded it.

"I wouldn't be here if I wasn't ready."

"That you wouldn't," Roman said. The thief cracked open his cigar case and picked one out. With a smirk, he offered it. "Here, I think you've earned a glimpse of what success tastes like. Stick with me and you'll go far."

Fail him, and the same fate as awaited those they'd left behind would be his reward. It went unsaid, but he heard it anyway. He didn't even want to know what happened to those who betrayed him.

 _Guess I'll be the first to find out._

* * *

 **And so, Jaune picks up yet** _ **another**_ **life he has to balance. Some spies live double lives, Jaune's just been dealt a treble. Bad luck. Poor Ruby, as well, though one can likely guess what story she'll be bringing back to Beacon and the others.**

 **I did say it a few times in the text, but just for those who might have missed it, Jaune had pitch-black hair and red glasses on, not to mention the suit. With all that, and keeping in mind how frantic the situation was, I think it would be all but impossible to expect Ruby to figure out who he was, especially when she wouldn't consider even** _ **thinking**_ **that Jaune might be a criminal. He's a student of Beacon, after all.**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 8** **th** **October**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	12. Chapter 12

**Next Chapter here**

* * *

 **Chapter 12**

* * *

Come the morning, Blake knew something was up with her partner.

To be fair, she wasn't the only one. You'd have had to be blind not to notice how exhausted he was, slumped over his breakfast with his head threatening to fall into it. She knew she'd been the only one awake and capable of seeing when he crept back into their room after midnight, but the others at least knew that he hadn't been there when they went to bed. Another late night for him, and this time he'd come back smelling of cigarette smoke. Her nose still twitched to remember it. He didn't seem like a smoker, but she supposed his Uncle's agent could have been.

There was something absorbing about watching his head drift down and then jerk back up again. Call it morbid curiosity, but there was no helping it. A part of her wondered if he'd finally give and kiss his scrambled eggs face-first.

She also vaguely wondered if a good partner would do something to stop that.

Pyrrha and Ren were all sympathy and concern, though the latter far less obvious about it than the former. Pyrrha had one hand on his shoulder and was asking him something Blake felt confident in saying he didn't hear. He nodded anyway, more because something was expected. His knife and fork came down, trying to cut a square from his toast. He managed it on the third try and somehow decided that was the job done, not even bothering to eat it.

It had become a spectator sport for Team RYWN too, who were unusually quiet lest they disturb the bizarre scene. Even Yang, who was normally the most antagonistic around him, sat with her cheek propped on one hand, watched with a half-amused, half-intrigued expression on her face.

"What on Remnant happened with him?" Weiss asked, turning to her.

That was another thing too, she supposed. Go back a year or two and the idea of a Schnee deigning to talk with her would have been ridiculous, let alone the thought that they could be friends in any shape of the word.

Despite that, Blake did sort of consider the proud girl a quasi-friend. The decision had been on her partner's suggestion, of course, but she'd found more common ground with Weiss Schnee than she'd expected. Or wanted, really. Both were disciplined and quiet, both focused on their grades, and they both liked to avoid the more rambunctious stuff their teams got up to. Yes, Weiss was a bit demanding at times and Blake couldn't imagine how annoying that would be, but since she wasn't on the team it was fine.

"He was out late last night," Blake explained. "He didn't come back until about half past twelve."

"Partying again?" Weiss scoffed. "And here I though Yang would be the worst among our teams."

"Hey," Yang complained, overhearing.

"It wasn't that," Blake said, feeling the curious need to defend her partner. "He had to meet with one of his Uncle's business associates for a meeting. It must have gone on longer than expected."

"He's in business?"

"Not him. As I understand it his Uncle is an author and Jaune's just sort of his assistant in Vale, meeting with printers and such." And if she'd paid more attention to that, it was only because she was curious as to who his Uncle was and what he wrote. Could he be the author of one of her favourite series?

Well, it wasn't like she could ask him – even if he might have already spied her literature and realised what it was already.

"Hm, well, at least it's not a hangover." Weiss watched him for a second as his head dipped lower. Pyrrha caught him, and Yang muttered something about her being a spoilsport. Weiss sighed and shifted in her seat. "He wasn't the only one coming back late, _or_ getting into trouble out in Vale. Isn't that right, Ruby?"

The younger girl jumped. "Eep!"

"Oh?" Blake asked. "Did something happen?"

"Oh, something happened alright," Yang growled, answering for Weiss. "Ruby basically decided she was going to stop a robbery, specifically after she promised me she wouldn't get into trouble. Just jumped straight into action against Torchwick and his goons."

Torchwick. Again? Suddenly more awake, Blake leaned forward.

"T-That's not fair," Ruby protested. "It's not like I went out of my way to find them. They were literally robbing the place I was going to shop at!"

"Again?" Yang drawled. "Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice-"

"It _did_ , though! It happened just like that! Besides, Torchwick wasn't even there, so it's not like I fought against him again or anything. I just had to beat up a bunch of his people."

"Except that they all escaped," Weiss pointed out, earning a long sulk from her team leader. Weiss explained for Blake's benefit. "She managed to save the store owner and protect the dust, but one of the men took a young woman hostage. Ruby was forced to let him escape so that she wasn't hurt."

"Ah, I see." Blake looked to Ruby, who was still sulking. "That's not a bad trade, Ruby. You couldn't have done much else."

"As I keep trying to tell her. You saved a life or two. That's enough." Weiss rolled her eyes. "Dust can be replaced."

"Easy for you to say, heiress."

"Can it, Yang."

"Wait…" Nora let go of Ren's arm to tap her chin. "If the dust was destroyed when Ruby blew it up but the store owners lived, wouldn't that mean they'd have to buy more dust."

Yang blinked. "Well, yeah… why?"

"I was just thinking who would profit from that."

Nora's words had them all thinking, until, as one, they turned to look at Weiss. The heiress' cheeks flushed and she slammed her hands down on the table. "Are you somehow suggesting I or my family were involved in this!?"

"No. Just that maybe it's a little easier for you to say `it's just dust`, when you're the one making the lien from it."

Weiss squawked angrily, and quickly went into a tirade about how the Schnee Dust Company couldn't be held responsible for such things. Blake tuned it out with a soft chuckle. She doubted the SDC had any involvement here, even if it was an amusing thought. Ruby had done well, too. The criminals might have escaped, but sometimes it was all you could do to prevent a bigger crime taking place. She wasn't trained for hostage situations. None of them were.

 _It doesn't sound like the White Fang were involved. I suppose I should be grateful for that._ Would that she could just ignore the news she'd heard about that warehouse explosion. White Fang bodies among those who had fallen – but had that really been the case?

Sure, they weren't always well-trained, but they weren't stupid. Who blew themselves up handling dust? It didn't make sense.

"Jaune, are you sure you'll be okay for class?" Pyrrha asked. "This is ridiculous. You need to tell your Uncle to cut down on the work he gives you."

"I know," Jaune groaned. "I intend to."

"Pyrrha has a point, though," Ren added. "There is still forty minutes or so before class begins. You could go back for another shower. Perhaps a cold one would wake you up a little more."

"That's not-" His voice trailed off. What had no doubt once been a denial was instead replaced with a long sigh. "Actually, that's not a bad idea." He pushed himself up off the table. "Will you guys be okay without me?"

"No," Blake said with a roll of the eyes. "Without our leader, we might get lost in the hallways, starve and die."

Weiss snorted. Even Yang sniggered.

"Okay, okay. I get the point." To his credit, he did try to laugh. It was just that a yawn swallowed it. "I'll catch you guys in class. If I look like I'm about to fall asleep in it, give me a kick."

"Ooh, ooh, sit next to me!" Yang called. "I'll kick you."

"And don't let me sit next to Yang…"

Blake smirked. "Sure. Now go. You look about ready to collapse."

He nodded and staggered away, and for a second she thought he might falter before instincts kicked in and he managed to right himself. With her partner out of the way and on the road to wakefulness, she turned back to the other team before her. Weiss had just about finished her tirade, and Ruby was working a finger in one of her ears.

"SDC's motives aside," she said. "Will your little fight appear in the news today?"

"I don't know. Maybe." Ruby shrugged. "I had to stay behind for the police again, and Miss Goodwitch had to come pick me up." She shuddered. " _Again_. Ugh. I guess they might talk about it, but the robberies are going on all over the place."

"They're more likely to mention the Vytal Tournament," Pyrrha pointed out. "There's a limit to how much negative news the people can handle, and the dust robberies are getting a bit old now."

Weiss shook her head. "What kind of image does it set that we consider criminal activity boring? Is everyone just going to ignore this because it's commonplace? That's ridiculous."

"I don't think they're ignoring-" Pyrrha trailed off as she saw something in the distance. Her eyes narrowed. "Oh, no…"

"What? What's happening?" It was Ruby who asked, but they all turned in their seats to look in the same direction as Pyrrha. In the distance, by one of the doors – Blake caught Jaune being thrown back into a wall from a solid shove by Cardin Winchester.

The rabbit faunus was also whimpering nearby, surrounded by his team of merry idiots.

"Winchester," Weiss seethed. "An arrogant and pompous idiot if I've ever seen one. Just like his entire family line."

"You know them?" Yang asked.

"I know of them. The Winchester name is, unfortunately, somewhat well-known. Not famous, but respected. Not always for the best of reasons."

Blake would have advised her to avoid calling the kettle black, but it would have been out of line. Weiss had never displayed any of the blatant racism her family did, and she at least seemed to agree that Cardin's behaviour towards that poor faunus was out of line. And towards her partner, too. Blake's hands clenched into fists as she watched Jaune stammer some line out – clearly too exhausted to think straight. He'd probably blundered into them without meaning to.

"Should we help him?" Ruby asked.

"Should we?"

"Yang!"

"It was a joke, sheesh." The blonde was already moving, one hand on her chair as she made to stand. "Stay here, sis. I'll give him a hand."

"I'll come with," Blake offered. He was her partner, so it was expected, and she'd be lying if she said she didn't relish the chance to bring Cardin down a few pegs. As an added bonus, since it was Jaune in trouble and not just the girl, she could interfere without anyone thinking it was faunus related.

They might have to hurry though, since Jaune must have said something to piss Cardin off. The brute shouted something in return and lashed out with a meaty fist. Blake cursed, pushing past Yang to try and reach the fight.

She needn't have bothered.

Jaune swayed out of the way of the blow, which wasn't a huge accomplishment given how telegraphed it was. He took a step back at the same time, and Cardin followed after, punching straight towards his face. Jaune's eyes widened, and he ducked under it, letting the larger boy's fist fly overhead – straight into a wall.

"Arghhh!"

"Cardin!"

"Boss!"

The three members of his team rushed over as Cardin cradled his hand, shaking it to ward away the pain. There were spider-web cracks in the plaster of the wall, but hitting it still would have hurt, aura or no. Jaune slipped out of the cafeteria while he was distracted, and much to Blake's amusement, so too did the faunus girl.

"Well," Yang said, chuckling when Cardin looked around in confusion, only just realising both of his prey had fled. "That was a thing. Guess we got worked up for nothing. Vomit boy wouldn't be much of a Huntsman if he couldn't handle himself."

"He's not weak," Blake said. "Just… not built for direct combat."

"What is he built for, then?"

Sneaking, knifework, being subtle – just like her. She'd seen as such from his fight with Russel, but also from how he acted in the Emerald Forest. Most noticeably, how he _didn't_ act in Beacon. Jaune had the skill to be better than he was, but chose not to for some reason. He held back. Forced himself to fight with armour that slowed him down and a sword and shield he didn't know how to use. She could see as such in his style, and how he often tried to close the distance. He moved like he was used to a lighter weapon.

Why, though? Why make that change?

And was it her place to question him? She was here in Beacon doing the same thing, making a new life for herself, away from the White Fang and everything she'd done before. If he wanted to do the same, then she would accept that. If his change included a change in fighting style and equipment? Well, she'd have to accept that too. And watch his back until he was good enough to watch hers.

"Nothing," she said, moving back to the table.

Her partner's secrets weren't hers to tell.

/-/

The shower had helped, but only to wake him up. His muscles were still sore, and there was a deeper fatigue inside him – one somewhere in his mind and heart. He was the first to reach the classroom, but that was on purpose. As he pushed inside, Oobleck was there – even twenty minutes early.

"I can't keep doing this," Jaune said.

"Hm?" Oobleck regarded him warily. "Doing what? Is this work-related? You may speak freely. I have thoroughly checked the room."

"I can't keep running three different lives at once," he said. "It's only the first day of doing it and I'm already exhausted. I'm not sure I'll be able to keep it going. I'm not saying I want to quit," he hurried to add when Oobleck frowned. "It's just… two was hard, but it was doable. I can manage that. But having a mission with you, and then one with Torchwick the following day? I haven't had a full night's sleep for two days running and it's starting to show. How Blake and the others haven't noticed, I have no idea-"

"They have noticed. Only a little, but I've seen them watch you."

"Then it's even more important to stop this now. I can't manage it, Oobleck."

"Take a seat." He gestured to one in front of his desk, and Jaune took it. The older man walked around the table and placed a finger above and below Jaune's eye, peering into it. "Don't move," he said. "I'm just taking a look. Hmm…"

"Are you even a Doctor?"

"Do you believe the letters after my name are for show? I did not earn this PhD for nothing, thank you very much. Tell me, is it the things you've been asked to do by Roman which have made you feel this way?"

"N-Not really," he replied, struggling to not blink. "I mean, it's illegal, sure, but the point wasn't to hurt anyone. I'm only there to protect Vale anyway, so it's not a big deal."

"The information you discover may well save lives. Do you use that to make yourself feel better?"

"Yes." He hesitated. "Is that wrong?"

"No. Not at all." Oobleck released his eye and stepped back. "You are doing good work, Jaune. Don't ever forget that. If it's not Roman's work, is it what I asked you to do? Does the thought of what occurred to those faunus terrorists bother you?"

The ones he'd killed. No. The ones that Magician and Vanguard had killed… except that it had been his suggestion to blow the place up (or rather Magician had assumed that was what he'd meant). He swallowed and took a deep breath.

"I'll admit it bothers me, but that's not the reason for this."

"You're speaking the truth, or as much as you believe it."

Jaune paused and looked up at the man, the words filtering into his mind and stirring an old memory. "Wait, did you just use your Semblance on me?"

"Only to test what the issue is," Oobleck defended. "We don't exactly have much time before class begins. Suffice to say, I'm pleased to see you're not having second thoughts. It looks like a clear-cut case of exhaustion to me."

Jaune threw his arms in the air. Wasn't that exactly what he'd been saying!?

"Now, now, don't be like that." The older man laughed. "It didn't take two minutes to make sure. So, the pressure of keeping your lives separate are eating at you, hm?"

"Yes. It wouldn't be so bad if it was just one… or it would, but I'd have less secrets to guard." And he was bad enough at that already. "It's just that now I have three, and I just know I'm going to mess something up. I'm Jaune Arc, the student. Jaune Arc, the spy. And now I'm John White, the criminal." He rubbed his head, already feeling a headache coming on. "What's next, Oobleck? Are you going to drop more on me?"

"That's not my intent – and it wasn't to give you those three, either. My decision to use you to infiltrate Roman's ranks was simply based on what tools I had available at the time. Your fellow Agents would not fit in for… various reasons. I apologise if this has put strain you, but-"

"It's for the betterment of Vale, right?"

Oobleck nodded.

"I get that, I really do. I'm just asking for advice. I need some way to make this easier on myself. I've got no idea when Roman is going to call with a job, or when I'll get any sleep. I can't handle more missions with Vanguard and Magician on top of that."

"Would it become easier if I suspended you from missions for a week or two?"

Jaune looked up in shock. "You can do that?"

"I am the Director of Operations, Jaune. I can do what I wish." Oobleck sat down behind his desk and placed his hands atop it. "You're not wrong in what you say. Your induction into the VSS has been too sudden. You're not practised in keeping a false identity, let alone three at once. It would have been better if we could have eased you into it gently. For now, all I can offer is to ease off on one of them. You will still be an active member of the VSS, of course, but I can hold off on assigning any missions to you until you've had time to rest and recuperate. I can't determine what Roman will do, however."

"That's fine," Jaune said, relieved to have even that small solace. "In fact, that's great. I'll still infiltrate Roman's gang and do whatever I need to there, but if I could just have a break from raiding warehouses or hunting the White Fang, that would be appreciated."

"Consider it done. I assume you will still be working on Miss Rose?"

"Yeah, of course." It was part of his guise as being a student, so it made sense to keep trying there. "Not that I'm having much success with it. I've managed to make myself look like a stalker. I don't suppose you've got any advice?"

"One does not usually ask a man over forty for advice on attracting young women, Jaune. Have you tried talking with her – casually, I mean?"

"Sure, but it's not exactly easy. She sticks with her team, and her sister is a little defensive around me."

"Let me guess, because she believes you a stalker?"

He winced and nodded.

"I suppose I can give you a hand just this once. Find a seat. The lesson is about to begin. I will see what I can do to help you interact with Miss Rose a little more effectively. Until then, continue to answer to Roman when he asks, but otherwise enjoy being a student for a while. I have a feeling you need it."

Jaune nodded. Honestly, this had gone better than he expected it to. Probably a sign of how Oobleck wasn't so much his hard-ass boss as he was someone trying to defend the Kingdom. It wouldn't do to overwork the people entrusted to do so.

"Thanks, Oobleck. I appreciate it."

"Actions speak louder than words, Rat. Continue to bring results and I shall consider that thanks enough. Now, go take a seat. You ought to be ready when your teammates arrive. I'll expect your full participation in class. Employed or not, your education is still important."

/-/

"Miss Rose? Miss Rose!"

The sudden shout – for the teacher had raised his voice – caught Ruby off guard. It wouldn't have if she'd been listening, but one look at Professor Oobleck's face told her that was the problem. He'd come to a stop in front of her desk, one hand planted on his hip and the other holding an open book before him.

Her hand, meanwhile, slid over to cover the tiny sketches of scythes and weapons she'd been doodling in her notebook. "Y-Yes, Professor Oobleck?"

"That is Doctor Oobleck, thank you, and I was asking you a simple question, Miss Rose. You _have_ been listening, correct?"

"O-Of course." Ruby's eyes strayed to her team, but there wasn't much help there. Weiss shook her head with a solemn expression, while Yang winced and shrugged apologetically. Nora? Well, the less said the better – but that was fine. She could handle this. "What was the question, sir?"

"If you'd been listening you would have heard it."

Ruby laughed nervously.

"Very well. The question is simple. Under what situations can the Council of Vale take control of Huntsmen and Huntresses and instruct them to abandon a battlefield or territory to the Grimm?"

Her mind went blank. Panic settled in a second later. She had no idea, and not just because she hadn't been paying attention. She'd _never_ heard of anything like being told to abandon places. That went against the very point of being a Huntress in the first place!

Nora and Yang were trying to mime the answer to her – for all the good that did. It was either too complicated to explain with gestures, or she was the stupidest person alive. She had no idea. None at all, and as other students started to snicker and laugh at her misfortune, she felt herself shrinking into her seat.

"They can't?" she guessed, hoping it was a trick question.

"I'm afraid they can, Miss Rose, as you should know." Oobleck turned away, and Ruby sank a little further. "Please stay behind after class to speak with me."

"Yes, sir," she said miserably. The laughter from the other students only made it worse, and her cheeks heated up as shame pooled in her stomach. She'd never been the best of students, but she'd been good. There was a reason she was allowed to move up early, after all. Dad and Uncle Qrow were teachers too, and if they heard about this? Well, she didn't want to imagine what they might say.

"I would not laugh were I you," the teacher went on. "Matters of Government control and how they work are paramount for you all to know. One day, it may be your lives which rest on such a balance. Now, moving on to the history of such laws. Turn to page 106."

Ruby did as told, her entire face red. Next to her, Nora shuffled a little closer in a silent show of support. She tried to smile back but it came out weak and half-hearted.

"Cheer up, sis," Yang whispered. "Everyone makes mistakes."

"It will be a learning experience," Weiss added – apparently not at all concerned that she'd been caught out. If anything, she was probably pleased. A learning experience, huh? Yeah, it might have been, but for one thing which ate away at her.

She still didn't know the answer to that question. She didn't know anything about what they were covering.

The lesson continued on for another forty-five minutes or so, before the bell signalled the end of the period and a short recess. The remaining members of her team offered to wait, but Ruby shooed them on ahead. No point in them losing their break because of her. They left after some short wheedling on her part, which mostly involved pointing out to Nora how Ren was slipping away with Pyrrha and how that might mean something.

Maybe she ought to feel bad about that later. Maybe she should go apologise to Pyrrha. For now, she had other concerns – and those involved the teacher collecting the text books and paperwork on his desk. It seemed like he'd forgotten all about her, but she didn't dare take that as a chance to leave.

"Um, sir? You asked me to stay behind…"

"Hm? Oh, Miss Rose. Thank you for staying." Oobleck didn't sound upset or disappointed with her, and Ruby's head perked up a little. "I won't take up too much of your time, my dear. I just wanted to ask you a few questions."

"Okay… like what?"

"Like the topic we covered in class. Did you understand much of it?"

Ruby's shoulders hunched, but she answered automatically. "Of course."

"Miss Rose, please be honest with me."

"I understood it."

He sighed. "Very well. Can you tell me who was the Councillor who drafted the laws surrounding Huntsmen and Huntress operations?"

She bit her lip.

"No? Very well. Can you tell me what those laws were called?"

"N-No…"

"Do you know what Mountain Glenn is?"

Ruby smiled tentatively. "A mountain?"

His face was flat.

"I-I'm guessing it's not a mountain."

"No, it is, but that wasn't quite the answer I was looking for." Oobleck moved to his desk and sat down behind it, gesturing for her to pull up a seat in front. She did so, though slowly and reluctantly, aware of how much of an idiot she must have looked.

It ate at her, too. Why didn't she know any of those things? She'd listened to the lecture – after being caught out, that was. She'd listened and done her best to follow, but everything had been too confusing. It was like they'd all been looking at different textbooks or something, except that she'd glanced at Nora's and it was the same.

So, why? Why didn't she get it?

"I believe I owe you something of an apology, Miss Rose."

Ruby froze.

What?

"You see, I believed your lack of a correct answer was disrespect on your part, or that you somehow found my lessons dull and uninspiring. I did not realise it was because you didn't understand the material. You could not follow what we were covering. Isn't that right?"

"No, I…" It only took a single look at his face to steal her words away. He looked patient, kind, but also incredibly sympathetic. Ruby wilted. "I… I didn't," she admitted. The shame returned, and this time her voice grew louder. "I didn't understand anything! I-I tried to listen, I really did. I just didn't get it. It was like… I don't know what it was like, but it wasn't right."

And now she'd gone and ranted at a teacher. Oh geez, Weiss was going to tear her to bits about this. With a wince, she went quiet and awaited her punishment.

"Did it feel like a piece was missing?"

Huh, what? "Y-Yeah, kind of."

"You would have studied this topic last year."

She winced. "If I did, I don't remember it. S-Sorry…"

"Allow me to rephrase that. You would have studied this topic last year, _were_ you seventeen right now." Oobleck regarded her shocked expression with a tiny smile. "Today's lesson required foundations you should have been taught in your last year of Signal. You, however, did not stay for your final year. As a result, the lesson was all but impossible for you to follow." He nodded to her. "It was not your fault, Miss Rose. You could not have hoped to answer the question."

"Last year…? Wait, you mean because I was moved ahead!?"

"Exactly, Miss Rose. While your combat skills are doubtless at the level required to attend Beacon, your academics are not. Not that it is any fault of your own." Oobleck's easy praise made her blush. "Even so, some of this material is necessary for you to pass your exams and become a Huntress. Without it, you might find yourself held back a year."

"H-Held back!?"

"Of course. We can't have a powerful Huntress who does not know the laws of the land running loose. The reason why this subject is taught in the final year in Signal is specifically because it is the final year. People who have been taught to fight will be let loose on the world, some to places like Beacon, others to whatever career they decide on. Either way, they need to know the laws that will govern them. If you don't… well, you end up with more people like Roman Torchwick."

That… that made sense, as much as she wished it didn't. Not all of Yang's friends had passed initiation, but they still _had_ aura and Semblances. They'd enter the normal workforce, or maybe trey to be Huntsmen another way. Whatever their decision, they'd have to hold themselves to different laws than the average person did.

"What happens now, then?" Ruby asked. "I don't know the material. I've missed an entire year. I'm guessing we won't be going over it in class?"

"It would be fruitless to revisit a subject everyone knows."

"Y-Yeah…"

Oobleck regarded her for a few, long seconds. Seconds of which she spent with her head pointed toward the floor. The teacher sighed. "Allow me to ask you, Miss Rose. Are you afraid of hard work?"

"No. No way!" Everything she'd done in life, she'd done because she wanted to. Hard work was never part of the equation. She just did it. If it took more effort, it took more effort. That was what life was about.

"I could teach you the material you have missed."

"R-Really? You would?"

"It would take away some of your free time, however. Are you prepared for that?"

Her first instinct was to balk. She loved her free time as much as anyone else, and way more than Weiss did. It was time for games, and playing or looking at weapon magazines and thinking what she could do to Crescent Rose. She had a feeling this offer wouldn't be on the table after this moment, though.

His eyes said as much.

"I accept." Her head bobbed up and down. "I'll do whatever is necessary."

"I'm glad to hear it. We'll begin our study sessions later this week. I'll be sure to send a message through to your scroll suggesting the time and place. For reference, you may not be the only person there. I often have students in need of additional instruction. Is that okay with you?"

"Yes, sir," she said. "I'll be there. I promise! Thank you for this. You won't regret it!"

Oobleck smiled. "I'm sure I won't. Be off with you, then. You still have some time to your recess, so enjoy it while you can. I shall be in touch later."

Ruby nodded happily, zipping out of her seat and towards the door. No punishment, no detention, and actually some help for the fact she'd missed important lessons. Sure, it would mean giving up some free time, but she couldn't help but think this hadn't gone so badly. She laughed as she slipped out the door, closing it behind her.

Back inside, Oobleck dropped the smile and reached for his mug. It wasn't brandy, but even this thick coffee helped to take the edge off just a little. Only when he was done did he speak. "Is that enough for you? I expect you see my angle on this."

"I do," Jaune said, slipping from behind one of the desks. If poor Ruby had paid more attention, she might have noticed him stay behind. He stepped down the steps towards the desk, face pensive. "This feels manipulative, though. Is it really right for us to take advantage of her like this?"

"If it's for the protection of the Kingdom, yes."

"But she's an innocent. She isn't White Fang, or Torchwick, or some criminals…"

"And no harm has befallen her." Oobleck turned his seat around and raised his mug in a silent salute. "Do you believe any of the words I told her to be lies? Ruby Rose _did_ miss a year of schooling. She did miss important lessons. These will come back to haunt her if she does not learn them. I _will_ teach her what she needs to know. Is any of that so bad?"

"Maybe if we were actually doing it because we wanted to help her…"

Oobleck sighed. "Perhaps. We shall have to see. What we do, we do to protect people, Jaune. If Miss Rose benefits from that, then who is she – or you – to argue otherwise? Don't you have a lesson to get to regardless?"

Jaune nodded and picked up his bag, sliding off towards the doors. Before he could reach them, however, Oobleck called out once more.

"Oh, and Jaune? You may be living multiples lives now, but keep them in order. Jaune Arc the student and John White the criminal do not exist. They are mere facsimiles of Jaune Arc, codename Rat, Agent of the VSS." He held Jaune's gaze for a long moment. "Your loyalty is to the Kingdom first, the VSS second, and your friends third. Remember that."

Rat hesitated at the door.

"Understood, sir."

/-/

"You can't tell me there isn't something going on," Pyrrha said, walking down the halls with her partner, Ren. Well, there was also Nora, currently hanging onto his arm, but she seemed away in another land, so it might as well have been just the two of them. Honestly, she was getting used to counting Nora as a part of him.

"I think that's obvious, Pyrrha. What I'm less sure of is our ability – or right – to intervene. Jaune is his own person, and while all of this late-night activity is clearly wearing him down, he has yet to have it negatively impact his grades." Ren stepped out of the way of an oncoming student, dragging Nora along so she avoided the crowds too. "Once it does, we might be able to offer advice, but right now there's little we can say."

Pyrrha groaned, but wasn't sure what to say in response to that. In the short time she'd known her partner, she'd come to realise that him being quiet didn't mean he never had anything to say. He was actually quite wise once you got him going. It was just a matter of being willing to listen.

"I'm just worried about him," she admitted. "Is that weird? Am I being too pushy?"

"I'm sure he'll make it clear if you were. As far as I'm concerned, you're not." He nodded at her, earning a sigh of relief.

"I'm glad. I know I'm not too experienced with having friends, but-"

"No one is experienced with that," Nora giggled, chipping in for the first time. "It's just sort of something you go with. Something that you feel – right in here." She poked Pyrrha's left boob. "Boop!"

"A-Ah, I see." If anyone else had done that, she'd have been offended. For some reason with Nora, it just felt normal. "Well, I just hope I don't ruin things by seeming too desperate. Seeing him this morning, though… I have no idea what time he came back."

"Me neither. I slept through it."

"He must have been pretty quiet," Nora said. "Ren's a light sleeper."

The boy's eyes narrowed, and he glanced to the side in thought. His lips were a thin line. "He _is_ quiet," Ren murmured. "You wouldn't think it given his armour and fighting style, but now that I think about it, he doesn't make as much noise as you do."

"My armour has more moving parts," Pyrrha offered.

"Yes, but he still moves quietly. Almost like he's trying to mask his footsteps."

"Blake does, too. Are you sure you're not just mistaking the two?"

"Perhaps," Ren shrugged his free shoulder. "It's hard to say. At least with Blake, it makes sense. Her frame, outfit and weaponry support quick and silent movements. Given his use of a shield, however, I'd have expected Jaune to be more defence-oriented."

Pyrrha shuffled awkwardly. "W-Well maybe he's just not so proficient in it yet."

"You're saying he doesn't know how to use his weapons properly?"

"I didn't say that!"

"You didn't have to," Ren said, smiling. "I think we can all see it."

"Jaune's a bit weak," Nora echoed. "Not in a bad way, though. Not everyone can be super strong. Maybe he's one of those leaders who has like, super intelligence or something. Maybe he's going to be a General on horseback. Ooh, Ren. Do you think you'll be on a horse too? Can I ride it?"

"If I get a horse, then yes," Ren replied. His attention flicked back to Pyrrha. "I'd say his forms could use some work."

"He beat Russel, though."

"With a stolen weapon. Funny that he should fight better with that than his own."

"A mimicry Semblance!" Nora crowed.

She went ignored.

"I'm not sure it's related to anything," Ren said, "least of all his late-night activities. It may simply be that it's a new weapon purchased for Beacon and he's unused to it. Maybe you could offer to help spar with him. Help him improve."

Pyrrha tapped her chin as she pondered the idea. It sounded good, and not just because it would help him. There was a selfish and frightened part of her that said if she helped him grow stronger – if she was useful in some way – he would be more likely to stay her friend. She crushed that thought mercilessly. She didn't need to do that. Ren, Jaune and Blake were already her friends.

"It's a good idea," she said eventually. "I might do it. It can't hurt, and I don't want to let my own skills get rusty."

"It would also be a chance to get closer to him. Maybe find out what it is that bothers him so."

Pyrrha shot him a sharp glare. "You're asking me to take advantage of him!?"

"It was your curiosity," Ren pointed out.

Pyrrha flushed.

"You don't have to. It was only a suggestion. Still, if there is something wrong then it might be nice for him to be able to rely on someone. If you help him and he becomes stronger, that's benefit enough surely. What's the worst that can happen?"

"Maybe…" She hummed to herself, eyes ahead as they made their way towards Port's class. Despite her immediate denial, the idea still swam around her head. "I'll help him train," she finally said. "But not to try and get anything out of him! If he wants to confide in me, I'll listen, but I'm not going to trick him like that. No matter how curious I am, until this becomes an issue, I'll stay quiet."

"And if it does?"

"Then I'll talk to him. You will as well, right?"

Ren nodded. That was enough for her. It was the best option for all of them, and she was fairly sure Blake would have agreed if she hadn't gone ahead with Weiss, the two in a conversation about laws and the lesson they'd just had. Out of all of them, Blake always seemed the most... not awkward, but weird around Jaune. She kept watching him, especially when she thought no one was looking. It was probably a sign of how deep in thought she was that she never noticed Pyrrha watching her in turn. Still, Blake never pushed. Never tried to take advantage of her position as his partner to force answers out of him. She wouldn't either.

After all, Jaune wouldn't take advantage of them.

If he needed help with something, he'd surely tell them.

* * *

 **Drama, conflicts, and a chance for Ruby and Jaune to get a little closer. Well, that and suspicion all abound. Not much to say this week.**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 15** **th** **October**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	13. Chapter 13

**Here we go - changed chapter number. Gods, I must be losing my mind.**

* * *

 **Chapter 13**

* * *

There was a strange moment of silence as Jaune closed the door to the classroom and stood outside with Ruby. They both stared off into the middle-distance, their faces slack and their arms stacked with books and sheets of paper.

"That… that was a thing," Ruby whispered.

"Yeah…" He couldn't say he'd expected it. When Oobleck first arranged for him and Ruby to have these sessions together, he figured it would be him and her having to research together, or maybe just Oobleck leaving them to read in private so that he could talk to her and ply her for information. Basically, he'd thought it would be easy going with the focus on the mission.

Not so.

Oobleck had taken one look at them when they stepped into the classroom alone and long after class had ended, and had quickly set upon them with a wide range of intensive lectures and readings, drawing diagrams on the board and quizzing them for good measure. Any suspicions that the man was fudging or faking his teaching credentials went out the window. Oobleck knew his stuff, and more than that seemed to genuinely have a passion for cramming information into their heads.

Jaune was still reeling from the cramming, and he could feel a dull pounding begin to originate from the back of his skull.

"I feel like I learned more in this hour than all of Port's lessons combined," Ruby said.

"I don't think that means much. Does Port even teach us anything?" Jaune rubbed his forehead to try and clear his mind, but it wasn't quite working. "I don't even know where I am. What year is it? Who am I?"

Ruby giggled, though even that sounded exhausted. "Me too. Ugh, he's so scary." She didn't know the half of it. "Why do you need these lessons anyway?" she asked. "Aren't you two years older than me?"

"I was born and raised outside the walls, so we didn't have the same lessons." Jaune went with his prepared excuse, which was still more honest than not. "Fighting Grimm is the same wherever you go, but I don't know all of Vale's little laws and rules."

"Because they didn't apply where you lived," Ruby accepted with a nod. "That makes sense. I lived on Patch, but I guess Signal knew most people would be going to the city so they taught them the laws of Vale. It's close enough, anyway. Yang and I used to come here all the time for shopping or to hang out."

"It was a little further away for me. I wouldn't have been able to make the journey." Not for a casual visit, anyway. Jaune sighed and hefted the books in his arms. "Do you think he really expects us to remember all of this?"

"I hope not…" Ruby stared at them like she was worried they might explode. "If so, I've already failed."

"Me too…"

The two of them shared a quick glance and a laugh, and it was at that moment he realised just how relaxed she was around him. It was enough to shock him to silence, not least of all because he hadn't even noticed it happening. Had this been Oobleck's plan – to break down the barriers between them by putting them through shared misery? If so, it was genius. Evil, but genius.

Unfortunately, his silence – and the fact he was staring – seemed to remind Ruby of just who she was talking to, and her silver eyes darted away. "S-So," she whispered. "Did he say when our next session is?"

Jaune recognised her anxiety for what it was and looked away quickly, hoping not to make it any worse. Damn him and his stupid nerves. It was the socially useless trying to lead the socially inept, and about as successful as one might imagine. "I don't think so. I guess he'll send us another message by scroll."

"Oh, yeah…"

"Yeah," he agreed.

The chasm between them only seemed to grow. He knew all of the theoretical things he should do – and not just from Oobleck's constant lecturing. Mom and Dad were always on his case about opening up, and his sisters were happy to try and make him chat with their friends. He knew he needed to form and hold a conversation; one that was interesting to Ruby, but which wasn't all just about him. No one wanted to hear someone wax about themselves all day. On the same note, it shouldn't all be about _her_ , either, otherwise she'd feel awkward and he'd come across as an even worse stalker.

He knew all that. He just didn't know _how_. Everyone made it look so easy. His sisters just approached random people and started to talk, and conversations would just appear out of nowhere. Him? Well, the less said the better.

 _But I have to try,_ he realised. _This isn't just me trying to chat up a girl. I'm working to save lives here._

"So, how are things going with your team?" he asked.

"Huh?" Ruby glanced up at him. "What do you mean?"

"W-Well I was just wondering." His eyes scanned left and right for inspiration, and for some reason he found it in a crest on the wall. "We're both team leaders, right? How are you getting on with that? I don't think I've actually done any leadership things. It's weird."

The topic seemed a good one, for Ruby's face lost its red hue and she nodded quickly. "Me neither. I don't even know what makes a good leader, or even why we need one at all. I mean, all we've been doing is lessons. How does that need leadership?"

"Yeah, totally." He nodded quickly. "I keep wondering if there's something more I should be doing, but no one seems to have any problems."

"Ugh, then you're lucky. Weiss had a problem with me being the leader. It's finished now – she's better," Ruby hurried to add, perhaps afraid he'd tell Weiss. "Ha ha, m-maybe forget I said that?"

"I won't tell her," Jaune promised.

Ruby let out a breath of relief. "Thanks. She was just worried because I was younger than her, I guess. It was all sorted out, though. How about you? Is everyone okay with you being the team leader?"

"I've not had any complaints. Honestly, no one's even batted an eyelid." He realised a second later what a mistake that was, since Ruby's eyes darted to the floor and she sighed.

"Oh…"

 _Idiot,_ he cursed. _Way to make her feel like there's something wrong with her. Good job!_ He raised his hands in panic, though what use that was he didn't know. "That's not to say there's anything wrong with you, though. My team is practically filled with people who don't want the position. Heck, I think they'd fight to the death to _not_ be made leader if something happened to me. Weiss is different, right? I bet she wanted to be in charge."

"Yeah, I guess." Ruby smiled a little.

"Why do you think you were made team leader anyway?"

"Huh?" Ruby didn't seem to understand his question, which was a shame since it was kind of his mission to find the reason. _Does that mean she doesn't know? It might… but it might also just be her hiding it. If it's a secret, she wouldn't just tell anyone._

He tried to phrase it differently. "Well, I mean Ozpin chose you to be the leader of Team RWBY despite the fact you're two years younger than everyone else. That must mean you're pretty special."

"N-No, I'm not!" Ruby almost shouted.

"Huh, but-"

"I'm not special! I'm… I'm just normal." Her eyes flickered away. "Totally normal."

 _She's hiding something,_ he thought. "Then why did Ozpin pick you to be team leader?"

"I-I don't know. Why did he pick you?"

Another mystery Oobleck wanted an answer to. "I don't know."

"Exactly! We both don't know. Maybe there's no reason. Maybe he just picks it randomly."

"Maybe," he allowed, knowing it wasn't true. There had to be a reason, otherwise all these weird things Ozpin was doing wouldn't make sense. Like the fact he took Jaune in at all, or how he stretched the rules for Ruby – or that strange meeting with General Ironwood before Beacon began. He couldn't press her, though. She either didn't know, or she did and wasn't telling him. If it were the latter, he'd need to earn her trust first. "Maybe you're right. I guess I'm just trying to understand why I was chosen to be the leader of my team."

Ruby seemed to relax a little. "Well if you find out, let me know."

"Sure." Jaune waved as Ruby jogged off, and was rewarded with her returning it before she rounded the corner and sped away. Exhaustion aside, it felt like their impromptu study session had worked – at least to a degree. They were still awkward around one another, but at least he'd found a topic they could talk about, that of being team leaders together.

Still, that had been a rather quick denial on the fact she was taken into Beacon two years early. He tried to tell himself it was probably just Ruby being Ruby, but the paranoia wouldn't quite go away. _I'll report it to Oobleck tonight,_ he decided, walking slowly down the corridor. _He can make of it what he will. He'll probably be better at it than me anyway._ Once it was out of his hands, he could forget about it and go on acting like normal. It would be better that way.

It had only been two days or so since Oobleck consented to give him time away from VSS responsibilities, and it felt both as relaxing as he'd expected and not at the same time, if that even made sense. On the one hand, he didn't have to worry about any crazy missions and that was great, but the added time only served to reveal how far behind he was in class – something that had honestly been just as present before, but which he'd been too distracted to pay any attention to.

 _I guess even with Oobleck's help, I'm still just a civilian with a few weeks added training. It's probably a miracle I've gotten this far as it is._

Then again, he was down near the bottom when it came to Miss Goodwitch's class. Someone had to be, of course, but he'd have preferred to at least not be dead last. He'd beaten Russel when he'd stolen the guy's knife, but he didn't have another win to his name and most other people did.

Jaune was so lost in thought that he didn't notice the approaching student until the last second. He caught a flash of uniform, and quickly tried to sidestep – only for the person to do the same and catch him regardless. A heavy shoulder slammed into his ribcage and knocked him back. He bounced off the lockers and winced. "Sorry about that."

"You're sorry?" Cardin Winchester sneered. "Oh well, that's great. Watch where you're going next time!"

"You bumped into me," he said. He realised his mistake a second later when a meaty fist caught his collar and pushed him back up against the lockers.

"What was that?"

The very-real spy winced and held his hands up in surrender, the irony of someone in his position being bulled in school very much apparent. Even worse for his ego was the fact he genuinely couldn't do anything about it. Cardin was a bastard, and not just to him, but he was still in the top ten per cent or so when it came to combat ability. Beacon was a dog eat dog world, and right now, job or not, Jaune was at the bottom of the pack. "Nothing, Cardin."

"It didn't sound like nothing, though I suppose maybe that's just you saying what your opinion's worth." He laughed cruelly. "You'd know better than me, I suppose."

A month or two back the look on Cardin's face would have terrified him. He was used to bullies, not that it ever made dealing with them any easier. There weren't that many back in Ansel, but what few they were took real exception to him because of his sisters. They were some of the most beautiful girls in the town, and would often turn down a lot of guys. Somehow, those same guys seemed to think it okay to take out their feelings on him.

They were always careful to make sure it was in ways his sisters wouldn't notice – especially after one had given him a black eye and Sable had realised who. After that it was always bruises on his chest and arms, or more often than not just threats, abuse and mental bullying.

It was also ridiculous how asinine that felt now. He had bigger things to worry about, namely Roman, the White Fang, and whatever else was going on in Vale. Some of that boredom must have shown on his face, because Cardin rammed him back into the lockers again, sneering through gritted teeth.

"You must have thought it was funny the other day in the cafeteria. Did you think I'd forget how you made me look like a fool?"

Jaune wanted to point out how it was Cardin who chose to punch the wall, but thought better of it. This wasn't a problem he could fix or hide from. If he made an enemy of Cardin, it would be an enemy for his entire school career, and unlike his jobs with the VSS, he couldn't hide from or get Cardin arrested. Couldn't beat him, either. Not yet.

The best bet would be to let it happen until he was strong enough to stand up for himself. Speaking out now would just make Cardin hurt him worse.

"It was an instinct," he said. "I didn't mean to. I'm sorry."

"Yeah? Well _this_ is instinct too." Cardin reared a fist back. "And I'm not sorry."

Jaune clenched his eyes shut and prepared for pain.

It didn't come.

"I can make you sorry," a female voice chuckled. "If you like."

His eyes cracked open, and he quickly noticed Cardin's hand still held back, but now with a new hand wrapped about his wrist. It was attached to a pale arm leading up to a smooth face with brown hair and a pair of stylish sunglasses. She smiled, and he was instantly reminded of Yang at her cockiest, except that this girl seemed to radiate far more of it.

Cardin recognised her instantly and blanched.

"Oh, it's _you_ again," the girl laughed. "I almost didn't recognise you without that tinfoil suit of yours. You know, when I warned you off my teammate I didn't mean you should find someone else. Maybe I need to give you a bit of a repeat lesson."

Cardin looked like he wanted to sneer, but thought better of it. He clamped his lips shut and tried to pull his hand out of her grip. The girl held on, just to show she was stronger than him. He pulled harder, and this time she released him – the sudden surprise of which sent him stumbling back a few paces. He almost fell, and his cheeks flushed red.

Even though Jaune didn't laugh, Cardin glared at him, and he had a feeling this wasn't over.

"Screw it," he said. "You freak-lovers can do what you want."

"What was that, boyo?" the girl called. She laughed when Cardin increased his pace, fast-marching around the corner and away. "Sheesh, what a prick. Someone needs to get laid, though I pity the girl who bothers with someone like him." She brushed a lock of hair from before her face, before suddenly realising his presence, still pressed up against the locker. "You okay? You can stop trying to become one with the metalwork, you know."

"I'm fine," he breathed, pushing himself off and dusting his blazer down. "Thanks for the help."

"No probs, kiddo. The name's Coco, by the way. Coco Adel."

He extended a hand. "I'm-."

"Jaune Arc," Coco laughed, not shaking his hand but slapping their palms together instead. "Already know. Let's just say a little bird told me. I came around to say thanks, though it looks like I managed to pay back the favour before you even knew it existed. Lucky day for me."

She knew his name? He looked her up and down quickly, noting the tight pants that hugged her legs and hung low on her hips, exposing the tiniest hint of skin. Her hips were jutted out to one side, one hand planted on them as she held her body almost like a model would. When his eyes traced higher it was to find her sunglasses down her nose, brown eyes watching his.

"See something you like?"

He flushed immediately, and it only got worse when she burst out laughing. "N-No, I-"

"Relax, kid." She slapped his arm. "You looked. It's fine. Everyone does it, and I wouldn't have much energy left if I slapped up every hormonal boy to take a peak. Not like I'm undressed or anything, and I'm guilty of checking out guys I like, too." She leaned forward to wave a finger under his nose, the rest of her hand encased in a satiny black glove. "Don't get any ideas though. You're cute in a dorky way, but not my type. Sorry."

"I-I wasn't getting any ideas."

"Hm-hm," Coco hummed in a voice that clearly said she didn't believe him. The curl to her lips told him she was more teasing than serious, however.

"You said you owed me a favour," he said, trying to bring the conversation back on track, or at least away from him looking like a red-faced idiot. "What was that all about?"

"Pretty much what you just saw. I helped you not get pushed around by that idiot." She jerked a thumb in the direction Cardin had left. "You helped my teammate not go through the same the other day."

It honestly took him a second to realise what she meant. "The rabbit faunus?"

"Yep. Her name's Velvet, by the way. She wanted to say thanks, but you scurried off before she could. Thought I'd come offer my own instead."

"I appreciate it," he said. "Even if… well, I can't exactly say I _meant_ to help your teammate…"

"So I heard." Coco didn't seem offended. "Vel told me it was more of an accident, but facts are facts. You helped her out in the end, and I'm more of a results justify the means girl. Either way, I helped you out in return so we're even."

"I guess so. Thanks again." It probably wouldn't be the end of this, not now that he'd accidentally embarrassed Cardin two times in a row. That would be taken as a direct challenge to his superiority – as ridiculous as that notion was in the first place. A temporary reprieve was better than none, however. "How was your teammate?" he asked.

"Velvet's fine. I'll tell her you asked." She grinned. "Maybe say you did it with a red face, too."

Jaune touched his cheeks, but they didn't feel hot. He glared at Coco when she laughed.

"Sorry," she said, hand held out. "It was just too easy. Nah, Velvet's okay. She's made of stern stuff, so something like that won't get under her skin. I had a chat with your friend too, so he shouldn't be going anywhere near her in the future. Not unless he wants to see what a third-year huntress can do to someone like him."

"You're third years?"

"Don't I look it?" Coco pulled a pose that did more to show off her assets than any sign of strength. Jaune's cheeks darkened again as he looked away. Damn hormones.

"It's not that. I'm just… well…"

"You're wondering how someone like him could bully a third year, right?"

His awkward wince was answer enough.

"It's a fair question, I guess. For the record, Velvet _could_ kick his ass – and probably his whole team's while she was at it. She's not as strong as me, but she's much more versatile. Even I'd struggle if she went all out."

"Then what happened?"

"He caught her by surprise. It's nothing too special," she said, noticing his flat expression. "Vel was just in the cafeteria looking for lunch, so she's unarmed, unprepared and not exactly in a good position. Suddenly, someone has hold of her ears – which are basically a part of her body, but not exactly the most resilient of things." Coco mimed with her hands above her head. "Even if she has aura, her ears are still just attached by very small amounts of muscle. It's not like her arm, which has bones and everything else. If someone tugs on them, it's basically like if someone pulled on _your_ ears. It doesn't exactly leave you in a position to fight. If she kicks him and he accidentally grips harder, she'll injure herself. If she tries to twist her body, she might make it worse." She shrugged. "Velvet wasn't trying to lose or acting weak, but having someone randomly come up and grab you by your sensitive bits isn't exactly fair. It would be like if I put a stun rod to your balls, turned it on, then expected you to fight."

Jaune's knees clamped together instinctively. "I guess that makes sense. I didn't realise it was that bad. She's going to defend herself in future, then?"

"If it happens again. It won't. Yats and Fox – they're our teammates, by the way – are basically making sure one of them goes to lunch with her every day. She's kept her guard up since then anyway, but you can't exactly blame her for letting it down in the cafeteria. It's not like you go there prepared for war." Coco looked at him and sighed. "Though you may want to from now on. I doubt me sending him off is going to be the end of this."

"It probably won't be," he admitted with a sigh.

"Geez." Coco ran a hand through her hair and looked away. "Look, I said I don't owe you anymore and I don't, but if you want to sit with us during lunch you can. He won't dare come near while I'm there."

The offer was a generous one, especially from someone like her. Still, he knew it wouldn't be possible, or appreciated. Coco was only doing it to be kind, and he had his own team to hang out with. "I'll be fine, Coco. Thanks for the offer."

"Look after yourself then. If he ever tries anything and I'm nearby, give me a shout. It's not a bother if I enjoy putting down idiots like him." She bumped her fist gently against his shoulder. "Good meeting you, kid. Thanks for giving my friend a hand, even if you didn't mean to."

"Thanks for saving me," he returned. "Even if you meant to."

Coco laughed and wandered off, raising a single hand in farewell. He would have stayed to watch her go, especially with how she swung her hips, but he was worried Cardin might hang around to catch him once she was gone. He scurried off the other way instead, headed back to his dorm and its relative safety. It was all very good to rely on people like Coco to help him, but he'd probably have to deal with Cardin himself if he wanted to get him off his back.

The normal way would be to get stronger and remove any chance of him having leverage, but that would take time and effort, neither of which he didn't have – but he was meant to be focused on Ruby and Ozpin, and didn't want to waste his time with a school bully.

 _Then again, maybe there's a different way. I'm a spy now._

He grinned.

 _Maybe it's time I started acting like it._

/-/

Ruby buried her face in her hands and groaned. "Yang, nooo…"

"I'm just saying," Yang laughed, holding her hands up to ward off any incoming pillows. "Look, the guy is clearly interested in you. You can't just ignore that."

"Watch me." She was doing a good job of it so far, even if her face was red and she was clutching her pillow to her chest like it was a lifeline. "You're just reading into it, anyway. Just because he keeps asking about me doesn't mean he… well… you know…"

"Is in love with you?"

"I didn't say that!"

"Heh, you're so cute." Yang's smile had Ruby groaning again. "You realise you probably need to do something though, right? I mean, whatever you feel, this isn't something that's going to stay around forever."

"What do you mean?"

"His feelings," Yang explained. "If he does like you, and you like him back, you might want to do something about it. Before he thinks you're not interested and moves on." She paused for a second, adopting a strange expression. "How _do_ you feel about him anyway? Do you like him?"

"I-I don't know." What kind of question was that!? "It's not like I know him all that well. We haven't spoken much."

"What about his looks?" Yang asked, instantly earning an unimpressed snort from Weiss. "Hey, looks are important. I'm not being shallow here. If Ruby can't even stand to look at him, a relationship wouldn't work for either of them. Attraction has to come from somewhere."

"Don't fight-" Ruby yelped, waving a hand between the two before an argument could form. She'd only just gotten Weiss on board with her being the team leader and didn't want to descend back into that nightmare again. "I don't know what I think. I mean, he's okay, I guess?"

"Not your type?"

"I don't know what my type is!"

"Seriously?" Yang blinked. "You've never looked at a guy and thought he looked cute?"

"No?"

"Handsome?"

"I don't think so."

"Sheesh, I'm not sure whether I should call you innocent or genuinely worry if there's something wrong with you. Wait, just to check – you thought that way about any girls? I won't judge."

Ruby blinked. "No, I don't think so."

"Okay, so it's not that…"

"Maybe she just isn't interested," Weiss suggested, turning a page in her text book. That she could read and listen at once was weirdly impressive and weirdly Weiss at the same time. "Do you have any aspirations for romance in the future?"

"I'd like a family," Ruby said carefully. "I've thought about having kids before."

Yang's smiled turned far too amused.

"About _having_ kids," Ruby repeated, voice stern. "Not about getting pregnant or anything involved in that. I'd like to have kids later on. So, yeah, I guess I have thought of it, but only if it was the right person."

"Well, that's kind of what I'm saying," Yang leaned back on her bed. "He might not be the right guy, but he _might_ be, and if you act all panicked until he gives up, you'll never know."

"You're suggesting she date him?" Weiss drawled.

Yang's eyes flashed red, much to Ruby's horror. "Not that! I'm saying she should talk to him more. Get to know him. See if she likes the kind of person he is, and then maybe – and I mean maybe – consider something more."

Ruby whimpered in fear. The fact that Yang could say it all so easily only made things worse. It wasn't that she was afraid of Jaune; even if she didn't know him well, she felt she was at least a decent judge of character, and he seemed nice. It was just the implications of what Yang was suggesting.

"But I'm bad at socialising," Ruby whined. "Like, really bad!"

"No arguments here," Weiss said, getting a glare from Ruby for her efforts.

"I know you are, sis, but that's never going to get better if you don't try and break out of your shell a little."

"W-What's wrong with the way I am now?"

Yang shot her an amused, if pitying look. "Ruby, being socially awkward at your age is cute. Being it when you're twenty-five isn't, and less so thirty. What's going to happen when you decide it's time, and you want to find someone to start a family with, but you don't even know how to approach a guy?"

"I… I dunno. I'll wing it?"

"Easier to wing it now when the guys are as clueless as you. When you're thirty, people are going to expert a certain level of grace. Let's say you're dating, for instance. If it's your first date ever, you'll make all sorts of little mistakes. At our age, that's not a big deal because the guy you're with might not have much to compare it with. If you're thirty, or even forty, you might be with someone whose been on fifty dates before."

And she'd look like an idiot, ruining any chance. Or worse, she wouldn't even be able to tell someone she liked them in the first place, because she'd be a basket-case of nerves and social anxiety. Ruby bit her lip and shivered on her sheets.

Yang was right. She was totally right – but this was one of those terrible lose-lose things, kind of like going to the dentist when you had a bad tooth. You knew it would suck, but you knew not going would suck, too.

Except this was worse because pain went away and you got a lollipop, while here she'd have to put up with gut-wrenching humiliation for possibly four years.

"W-What if he's not even interested in me?"

To her eternal mortification, it was _Nora_ who sent her a pitying look. "Ruby, the guy is basically always staring at you. Even _Ren_ has noticed."

Ruby wanted to crawl under her covers and die.

"B-But how do I know if I like him?"

"Spend some time with him," Yang suggested. "As a friend, I mean. Just hang out, chat, see what he likes, and see if you click on anything. I'm not saying you have to tell him you're vetting him as a potential boyfriend or something. You're just seeing if anything sparks. How do you feel about him now?"

"I don't know." She shook her head. "Weird."

"Weird in a bad way? Like he's some fat old man drooling over you?"

"No," she said. "And ew, thanks. I now have images of Port doing that."

"Ugh, don't remind me. That's already my reality." Yang shuddered, recalling the time the over-large teacher had winked in her direction. "Describe it to me. Picture his face and tell me what you feel. Be as specific as you can."

Ruby glared at her sister but went along with it, if only because she knew she'd be badgered all night if she didn't. And maybe, maybe deep inside, she also kind of wanted to know as well. She closed her eyes and brought up a recent memory of him, almost straight after their study session together and in an awkward moment of silence she could remember vividly because of how stupid she'd felt at the time. Those bits where you were embarrassed were always easy to recall.

He'd been quiet, but she'd noticed his eyes peeking in her direction, focused almost too obviously on her. Whenever she'd glanced back, his had darted away, like he didn't want to be noticed. She had, of course, but she'd not mentioned it – too afraid to bring it up.

Her cheeks heated at the recollection of it.

"Looks like you've got a good one," Yang teased. "What do you feel?"

"Awkward." It was the first thing to come to mind for obvious reasons. "I… My face feels hot, and I want to say something but I'm not sure what. I have ideas, but I keep shooting them down as stupid. What if he's not interested in what I want to say? What if he thinks I'm some kind of weapon-geek? And then I look, and he's looking back, and I look away and my stomach feels kind of heavy and light at the same time." She buried her face into her sheets. "Argh, I don't know."

"It feel like you were on a roller-coaster?"

"More like I was back riding that Nevermore, except if it was doing constant flips and turns." Ruby blinked and looked at her teammates. "Why are you all smiling like that?"

"No reason," Weiss replied, hiding her smile behind her fist.

Ruby didn't believe it for a second. "You never smile! What's happening!?"

"E-Excuse me!?" Weiss shot to her feet.

"Forget her," Yang laughed, pushing Weiss aside so hard, the heiress fell over the back of her chair. She pressed her face close in to Ruby's, and somehow Nora had appeared beside her. The fact their expressions were similar spelled all kinds of bad things. "You said your stomach was doing turns, right? Kind of like butterflies…?"

"Why would there be butterflies-"

"Answer the question!"

"Y-Yes. Maybe. I don't know, it's a stupid question." Ruby blushed and looked away. "You're all over-reacting. Just because a guy keeps looking at me doesn't mean he likes me."

"And keeps trying to talk to you," Yang added.

"And that."

"And encourages his team to sit near ours at lunch, and always makes sure he's opposite you," Weiss said, rubbing her head.

"A-And that…"

"And that when Ren and his team were doing introductions, someone teased that he liked you and his face went red," Nora said, almost flippantly.

"And tha-" Ruby froze as her brain processed what had just been said. "W-W-W-WHAT!?"

"Well, well, well," Yang said, sitting down and throwing an arm around her shoulder – whether that was in camaraderie or to prevent her bolting out the window, Ruby wasn't sure. It still looked a viable escape route, though that ended when Yang's hand clamped down. Definitely the latter. "So, sis. Now that the cat's out of the bag, what do you intend to do? Sit back, stay afraid and let it pass you by? Or get rid of this social awkwardness once and for all?"

The way Yang phrased it made it clear it wasn't much of a choice.

Ruby let out a rattling whine.

This was _not_ what she'd expected when she'd agreed to come to Beacon early. Whatever happened, she had a feeling Crescent Rose couldn't let her fight her way out of this one. With a panicked whimper, Ruby sunk down into her own shoulders and whispered the words that sealed her fate.

"I-I'll do it…"

/-/

Oobleck sipped from his mug and pretended not to notice the man stepping into the room. His eyes remained fixed on the textbook before him, even if they perceived no words. He waited for his visitor to cough before he looked up with a startled expression.

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" Ozpin asked.

"Of course not, old friend," Oobleck returned, making sure to speed up his voice a little. "I was simply reading a little to refresh my mind. There's never enough in life to take in, especially when it comes to history. Every day is a new lesson."

"History writes itself, after all," Ozpin chuckled, sitting down on the other side of Oobleck's desk and accepting the offering of some coffee from his thermos. "Thank you. It's rare to find another who enjoys the pleasures of a good drink as much as I."

"Pleasure perhaps, but I need the energy more than anything else."

"To keep up with the students?"

"Ha, more in the hopes they will take some from me. To my eternal chagrin, history is as delightful a topic for children as ever. No one wants to sit and listen about what someone did a hundred years ago, no matter how much they could learn from their mistakes."

The headmaster laughed along with him. "That's true, I suppose. Ah to be young again, when you know best and everyone else is clearly an idiot."

The two touched their mugs together in agreement. He'd been no different, of course. The mistakes of others were simply errors he'd felt he would never make. Oh, how wrong he had been. "It's not only that," he said. "Some of my students have picked up the unfortunate habit of falling asleep in class. Though I have no proof, I can't help but feel it odd how that always seems to be _after_ they have a lesson with Peter."

"A most conspicuous coincidence, I'm sure." Ozpin smiled to show he was joking, and that he might have a word with Port later. "Would one of these heavy sleepers happen to be Mr Arc, by any chance? I did notice that you'd drawn him in for a detention."

Interesting. He'd expected Ozpin to ask more about Ruby than Jaune, though this was certainly not an unappreciated development. He kept his eyes from giving anything away and waved a hand dismissively. "Not a detention, Ozpin. You know how much I hate that word. I simply kept him behind to have an additional lesson with myself. Punishing students by depriving them of free time for no purpose seems pointlessly cruel. I'd rather teach them than have them sit in silence or write out lines. At least then they might learn something."

"That's an admirable view to take. How is he doing?"

"His theory work leaves much to be desired, but I cannot fault his effort," Oobleck answered, being sure not to sound too invested either way. "I think he could grow into a worthy huntsman in time. It will take time, however."

"This is a school. We can give him time, and there is no better place to learn. Still, I'm concerned at how much time he spends out of Beacon, particularly late at night."

Oobleck blinked. "I'm afraid I don't quite know what you're referring to. Hm, I wonder if that is why he appears so tired in lessons."

"It may well be." Ozpin watched him intently, but Oobleck had played the game long enough to give nothing away. After a few seconds, the headmaster seemed content with what he'd seen and nodded. "I suppose we'll just have to give him the benefit of the doubt. Not everyone finds it easy to adapt to life at a boarding school."

"I could have a word with him if you would like."

"No, it's fine. I would rather not pry into a student's life. Until it impacts his performance, of course."

Oobleck nodded, and the conversation quickly turned to inconsequential things about lesson plans and the upcoming Vytal Festival. Oobleck answered where he was expected, and made sure to gush about the history of the festival whenever it was brought up. Eventually, after at least half an hour had passed, Ozpin sighed and stood.

"I had best return to my office," he said. "Glynda will notice by absence if I delay much longer, and I doubt my paperwork has shrunk any."

"Is that why you came to chat?" Oobleck teased.

Ozpin laughed. "You know me too well."

 _Not well enough, it would seem,_ he thought as the man closed the door behind him. The interest in his sudden decision to keep two students behind for detention was expected, especially keeping in mind exactly whom he had chosen. What was less anticipated was which that would be. He'd thought Ozpin would come with questions about Miss Rose, his little pet project. _Instead he's more intrigued by mine. This could prove problematic._

Ozpin's interest in Jaune always had been. Even as it was one of the core reasons for recruiting him to the VSS, Oobleck had nonetheless hoped it would prove nothing more than a red herring. While having an Agent who was of interest to their target was useful, it was also frustratingly complicated, and Jaune was still an amateur. "I suppose this goes to show what happens to the best laid of plans. I'll have to be careful moving forwards."

Idly, he checked his scroll, was intrigued by a requisition request his young protégé had made sometime in the distance between their study session and now. He opened it up and hummed in surprise.

Information on Cardin Winchester? As a request for what could be private material, it had to come through him – and the handlers at the VSS must have passed it on. _I don't see how this would be useful in his goal of getting closer to Miss Rose, but I suppose there is no harm._

He approved the request, and stored his scroll away a second later. There were further lessons to prepare for, and cryptic words to work through.

/-/

Roman watched over his men with a keen gaze, belying the relaxed expression on his face. They rushed about below, loading vehicles with crates and checking ones delivered by the White Fang. It was an annoyingly irritating requirement, created only by those blasted animal's lack of common sense and ability. They often marked containers wrong, or filled them overmuch. Dust was as dangerous as it was volatile, but they were amateurs in its handling. The same couldn't be said about those that Roman chose to take on. Would that he had enough of them to handle all of her orders. Alas, he had to make do with what he was given.

"The truck is filled, boss," one of the suited men called, slamming a hand against the closed grill on the back. The truck itself was marked as containing fish caught off the harbour. Each was different, the better to ferry their goods about the city.

"Send it off, Rufus," Roman replied, waving one hand.

The man nodded and got back to work, handing over a clipboard with a map and directions to the driver, another of his men, albeit disguised as someone you'd expect to find behind the wheel. His operation was a well-oiled machine, more a testament to evolution than anything. Like any fledgling criminal, he'd made mistakes early on, but failure had taught him valuable lessons. It was evolution of the fittest, wherein his weaker tendencies had been killed off or removed as police capitalised on them. What was left was proven and tested methods.

He strolled away from the railing, nodding to Neo that she could stay and watch if she wanted to. She looked bored, the poor thing. Logistics had never been her forte, and she hated peaceful times like these. To be fair, he'd told her she didn't need to come. She was probably just bored.

Reaching a secluded part of the warehouse, Roman checked his scroll and waited. She'd said she would call come six – and it was only two minutes until then. The second the number ticked over, the device rang.

"Cinder," he greeted.

" _Roman,"_ she returned, just as blandly. _"How goes the operation?"_

"I sent you the figures this morning as requested. Dust acquisition fares about as well as expected, though those stupid animals have managed to muck things up as usual."

" _I heard about a warehouse lost, along with a vast amount of dust."_

"Their fault, I assure you. One of them must have been tracked since we were attacked."

" _Police?"_

"No. Three masked figures – dressed mostly in black and grey, and not White Fang before you ask."

" _Interesting. Did they say anything?"_

"Not a damn thing." He shivered at the memory, though more at the creepiness than from any real fear. "They were as silent as the grave, though I think that had something to do with their masks. No way they stayed perfectly quiet through all of that. The police showed up afterwards, but the explosions would have drawn them. Official news is that the White Fang messed up and blew themselves up…"

" _Not the authorities, then. They are not nearly so gung-ho, and certainly wouldn't kill so many in such a callous manner."_ Cinder chuckled darkly, and there was no hint of sorrow or sympathy in her. _"I suppose I shall have to look into this."_

"Do you think it will impact the White Fang's willingness to work with us?"

" _I should not imagine so. If anything, it will simply unite them against a common cause. I'll be sure to tell Adam of these monsters who so cruelly slaughtered his loyal followers. I'm sure he'll be incensed."_

That was a safe bet. It always was when working with fanatics like that. Roman growled around his cigar, and wondered not for the first time why he was working with them either. It wasn't hard to remember. Better on their side than not, especially with the stuff Cinder had planned. "I've got a friend looking into those masked people," he said. "Nothing's come up so far, but it's only been a few days. He'll have to grease a few more palms before we learn anything."

" _Have you recruited more men?"_

"As best I can. I'm boosting my numbers, but it's still not enough to meet the amount you want. I'm doing my best here."

" _I know, Roman. You're doing well."_ Cinder smiled seductively, though he knew better than to think it meant anything. _"The ineptitude lies mostly with our animalistic friends, though we couldn't have expected any more. They are revolutionaries, after all. It's not in their nature to not draw attention to themselves."_

"That's one way of putting it. Bloody fanatics if you ask me." He knew she hadn't, and quickly hurried on before she could say so. "It's going to take longer to recoup our losses than expected. I've been hitting dust store after dust store as it is, and some of them have chosen to cut their losses and close down rather than restock. It's not a limitless resource."

" _Then you shall simply need to aspire to something grander."_

Roman felt his irritation spike, especially at the smirk on her face. Easy for her to say; she wasn't out here risking her life like he was. "And how, pray tell, do you expect me to do that?" he asked. "There aren't any dust refineries worth raiding out here. All of the good stuff is made by the SDC."

" _And they have a shipment coming into Vale soon, for the express purpose of refuelling many of the stores you and your men have hit."_ Cinder's tone was filled with dark promise, and despite the risks, Roman's eyes lit up.

"Is that so…?"

" _Interested, Roman?"_

"You might say that. I suppose you'll send me the details?"

" _Within the hour,"_ she promised. _"I want you to take the White Fang, however."_

His good mood vanished almost immediately. "Things would go a lot smoother if it was me and my men. They're amateurs, Cinder. They'll muck it up."

" _Perhaps, but there is value in having them be implicated. If our friends are going to cause problems regardless, I don't see why we can't profit from it. There is a certain party I would like to keep… misinformed."_

"Ozpin?"

" _Among other people."_ She would say no more. _"Take the White Fang and steal what you can. Should they fail as they have before, abandon them. I shall tell Adam they were lost in a battle against the Schnee droids. If any dust escapes your grasp, well… we know where it is headed. You can simply procure it from the stores once more."_

Which would be more work for him, of course. Roman nodded, even as he made his own plans to take a few of his boys regardless. He'd feel a little more confident with some brains behind him, and not just the typical empty-headed brawn the White Fang employed. "I'll see it done," he said. "Send me what you have whenever you can. I'd prefer a little time to plan ahead."

" _You'll have it Roman. Farewell."_

The call ended before he could reply, and he stowed away the scroll with a faint frown. A near-silent step sounded behind him. "Heard that, did you?"

Neo brushed by so she could face him. Though no words crossed her lips, the way she tilted her head to one side and raised an eyebrow indicated her question.

"We'll be going ahead with it, yes."

She snarled and raised a single hand.

"With those idiots, yes." He sighed around his cigar. "Don't worry, I'll be bringing you along as well, just in case. I'm hardly fool enough to trust my survival to a group who love to martyr themselves at every opportunity."

Neo nodded, satisfied. She ran a finger in a circle and nodded to the warehouse.

"Cinder might find out if we take too many. We'll bring one or two – maybe from the new batch. It'll give them a chance to see what work with us is like. And yeah," he added when she smiled cruelly. "If they get left behind, they won't have anything juicy to spill."

Neo laughed silently.

"If those masked goons show up, think you can handle them?"

She shrugged. Without seeing them in action, it was hard for her to give a real approximation of their ability against her. He appreciated that honesty. It was what made her infinitely more valuable than arrogant fools desperate to prove their worth.

"Well keep an eye out anyway. I'll have you on the ground a fair bit away. I want you running recon for the most part, but feel free to interfere if things get hairy." She nodded and he reached out to rub her hair with an almost fond smile. It took on a more sarcastic edge when she scowled and tried to straighten it out. "Get some rest," he suggested. "I'll handle everything on this end and I'll call you if anything interesting happens."

Neo nodded and winked out of existence, slipping away invisibly. Though he couldn't see her leave, his instincts told him when he was alone once more, and he meandered back over to the railing. His arms rested atop it, he leaned down and watched distractedly as his men worked away below. A cloud of smoke puffed from his lips and he flicked the stub of his cigar away with a tired sigh. His head rose towards the ceiling.

"Don't cross me, old friend," he whispered. "You're not the only one who's grown since those times."

* * *

 **Oooh, spoopy. I've not seen any of the new trailers, episodes or such, so feel free to not spoiler me. I likely won't watch any until there are a bunch out at once, maybe six or seven, but hell, I might wait until the entire season is done first. We'll see.**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 22** **nd** **October**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	14. Chapter 14

**Today was quite the busy day, unfortunately. The chapter may be a tiny bit smaller as a result – but not by a lot. More like average length instead of the rather long chapters I've been throwing around this week.**

* * *

 **Chapter 14**

* * *

His team seemed to have calmed down since he hadn't gone on any late-night endeavours for the last week or so, and the suspicion around him doing it at all had become nothing more than a distant memory. As a result, he'd started to get a little closer to his teammates. Pyrrha and Ren were easy, both happy to spend time with him or together as a whole whenever he wanted. Pyrrha seemed almost too eager to please, but he chalked that up to nerves and them still being relatively fresh. Ren was more reserved, yet no less amicable when approached. They often had to take Nora as a part of him, of course, but that wasn't such a problem. She seemed thrilled her childhood friend was getting on with his team, and encouraging them at every stage.

Blake was a little more complicated, though not enough to worry him. For a while, he'd wondered if they'd done something to alienate her since she spent so much time reading, even when they were doing things together. It had only taken a few instances of her offering suggestions or sarcastic comments over the top of her latest novel which revealed the truth, however. As anti-social as she may have seemed, she didn't mean it as such. Quiet and snarky was just the kind of person she was, and that didn't necessarily mean she disliked you. It might even mean she felt comfortable enough to be such.

All in all, he was rather pleased with Team ABRN. They were getting on well, there wasn't any drama between any of them – and most importantly – none of them seemed to have anything that ought to have sparked conflict with his _other_ job. His other legitimate job, of course. His work with Roman kind of conflicted with everything Beacon stood for.

So far, Jaune found himself enjoying his recent holiday from VSS responsibilities, even if he realistically knew Oobleck would have only granted it if there was nothing to do anyway. What he was doing with Ruby was essentially work anyway, even if it helped him out with his studies as a bonus. They'd had a few more study sessions since the last, and while the air between them remained awkward – maybe even _more_ awkward than before – they were at least on talking terms. They were also getting better in their studies, which had more to do with the gruelling pace Oobleck was putting them through, all to assuage any suspicions Ozpin might have, or so Oobleck claimed. Jaune wasn't sure he believed him there.

And speaking of Oobleck…

"You're distracted."

"Huh?" Jaune had only the time to look up and widen his eyes before the pommel of a knife struck his forehead. Aura flared but pain still lanced through his skull and he fell back on his ass with a muffled grunt. "Ow. Thanks for that."

Oobleck twirled the dagger in his hand and stepped back, frowning. "It's what you get for daydreaming," he said. "An enemy won't stand by and allow your mind to wander; be they human or Grimm."

"Maybe my instincts aren't good enough yet."

"Instincts have nothing to do with it." Oobleck sheathed his dagger and held out a hand, helping Jaune to his feet. "People talk about them but often don't understand what it means. You may develop muscle memory and instincts that warn you of danger, but those still require perception and concentration. Your subconscious simply comes to understand what certain stimuli mean. The sudden cessation of the sounds of wildlife, for instance, might lead you to feel wary, because your brain recognises and recalls a similar situation in which you experienced the same and were ambushed by Grimm soon after. Instinct is instantaneous recall of memories surrounding a previous stimulus. Trust them, but don't rely on them. Instincts, like your memory, can let you down."

"Got it," Jaune said, rubbing his head and sheathing his dagger. "Is that it for the night?"

"It may as well be. You're distracted."

He winced. "I'm sorry, but-"

"You're tired," Oobleck interrupted. "You've been training, or perhaps sparring. Am I correct?"

Jaune paused, surprised. "How could you tell?"

"When you first entered the room, your face was flushed and your breathing still irregular," Oobleck recounted in a lecturing tone. "You favoured your left leg as though over-compensating for a limp and your upper button was undone one more than is usual. Your hair was slick, also. You had a shower afterwards to ward off the smell of training, but you do not normally have a shower before our training sessions, no doubt because it would feel pointless to do so when you will be working out here. During the fight, your movements were also slower than what I normally see." The man chuckled. "You also have a bruise on your left wrist," he added, drawing Jaune's gaze down to the small and insignificant mark. "Someone disarmed you quite powerfully, I'd say. Perhaps as a reprimand for a poor defensive posture."

"Pyrrha," Jaune replied, "and yes, you got everything right. That was insane…"

"Not insanity, my boy, simply the results of a good memory and careful analysis of why someone is acting in a manner different to what is expected. You've started to train with your team, then? Or was this a one-off spar?"

"Pyrrha offered to help me with my sword work," Jaune answered. She'd approached him after a lesson, and judging from how Ren and Blake both rushed off to lunch without them, they'd known it was coming. Pyrrha had been nervous at first, maybe thinking he'd refuse it or be offended that she'd noticed he wasn't very good at fighting. He probably would have been if it wasn't for Oobleck, Magician and Vanguard. They'd showed him just what the difference between them was. "I accepted. Is that okay?"

"I have no complaints. You are already aware I won't be teaching you the sword and shield because any such improvements might have been seen as suspicious. Your training with a teammate solves the issue. In future, if you have training before our sessions, please contact me in advance and we can reschedule. While I cannot fault your willingness to work, you might well injure yourself trying to overdo it. Aura protects the body, but does little for internal injuries or muscle tears."

Jaune nodded, relieved that his mentor was fine with the new development. To be fair, nothing ever did seem to rattle Oobleck, and if he _was_ mad, Jaune was fairly sure it would be so hidden he'd never know, but at least here he seemed honest. He couldn't be an effective spy if he was weak, after all. He wouldn't survive or get far enough into Beacon's curriculum if that were the case.

"What do you believe the reason for Miss Nikos' offer?" Oobleck asked suddenly.

"The reason?"

"Yes. Training you is quite the generous offer, particularly from one so famous. I expect there would be many doting parents willing to pay her thousands of lien for such intimate lessons. Even from her point of view, it is a sink of both time and effort. Why do you believe she chose to help you willingly?"

Jaune bit back a sigh. Oobleck always did this, asking him to point out the motives and reasoning behind every little action, just to figure out what the person making it truly meant or wanted. It was training, of course, but it annoyed him when it was about his own team.

"Does there have to be a reason?" he asked. "Maybe she just did it to be nice."

"Then that would be a reason – either for the self-gratification of such charity or because she experiences pleasure from aiding someone she considers close." Oobleck waved a hand distractedly as he spoke, the other busying itself in some paperwork on his desk. "Every action has a reason, Jaune. If it did not, she would not make it. The sooner you understand that, and the sooner you're able to decipher them, the better an Agent you will be. It will also help to keep people from taking advantage of you."

"People like who?"

"Myself. Roman. Ozpin."

Hearing that said so frankly stole the words from his lips. He wanted to deny it, but there really was no doing so. He'd benefitted from Oobleck and the VSS, sure, but they'd gotten more out of it than he had, and not left him much of a choice either way. Roman hadn't really been the same, but it was still there, and neither of them had any idea what Ozpin wanted and how much he'd already gained. Faced with that, it was all he could do to not meet Oobleck's eyes.

"Motives are not inherently evil or flawed, Jaune. Miss Nikos may have a perfectly kind reason for her actions, and I am not suggesting you become suspicious of her. It may even be a motive you find yourself quite intrigued at."

"Like?"

"Romance, for instance." Oobleck's tone took a teasing edge. "What I train you here can be applied to the finer sex as well. If you're able to read the words unspoken, you might be able to determine whether a woman is interested in you or not."

It was a bribe. He knew that. It was a carrot dangled in front of his face to try and make him happy at the prospect of doing this all the time. And damn him, but the carrot looked tasty. He blamed his hormones for that.

"I have no idea what her motives are," he finally said. "I don't have enough information."

"A reasonable deduction. It would not do to make a conclusion with faulty intel. Well then, I believe with you already being out of shape for further training that we are done for the day. Perhaps you should go and spend some time with your team and seek some more information."

"I will when I can," Jaune said, rolling his eyes. "Hey, do you know anything about this school trip to Forever Fall?"

"I know it is a school trip and that you shall be collecting some material from the indigenous fauna, but little else. As far as I can tell, it is exactly as it looks."

"Nothing to worry about, then?"

"I should not think so." Oobleck shrugged one shoulder. "I'd just enjoy an easy day away from lessons were I you."

"Okay. I'll see you later, Oobleck." Jaune waved as he headed for the door, but wasn't overly surprised when it wasn't returned. His mentor was already too busy looking over VSS business on his scroll.

Jaune let himself out and closed the door behind him, and bumped almost instantly into someone coming the other way.

"J-Jaune!" Ruby gasped. Despite his lack of attention, she was anything but slow and was able to quickly dodge out of the way and avoid a collision. She looked about ready to say – or stammer – something, but her face drained of all blood when she realised where he'd just come from. "Oh no, did I forget a study lesson with Doctor Oobleck!? I was so sure I didn't! Nooo…"

"You didn't," he assured, cutting her off before her wail could become something far worse. "Don't worry. You're fine. There wasn't anything like that tonight."

"There wasn't?" Ruby let out a long breath. "Sheesh, you scared me!"

"Ha, yeah. Sorry for that."

Ruby looked him up and down, eyes narrowing for a second. "What are you doing here if there aren't any lessons?"

 _Couldn't I ask the same about you?_ He didn't though, knowing it would just make things weird. "I had to ask him about something I got stuck on. History homework…"

Ruby pulled a disgusted expression. "Ugh, Weiss made us all do that in advance. It was terrible."

Weiss seemed like the type to do that, just as Ruby seemed the type to be forced into it by said girl. When it came to homework, it was almost universally Oobleck's that cause problems. Port rarely set any, and when he did, he often forgot to ever mark it. Miss Goodwitch's lessons didn't really suit homework either, so they just had history, history and more history.

"What are you doing out here, anyway?" Jaune asked. "Don't you normally spend your afternoons with your team?"

Ruby's cheeks flushed and she glanced away, suddenly nervous. "They're being weird," she admitted. "I couldn't put up with them. Even homework is better than that."

"Weird? What are they talking about?"

"N-Never you mind!" Ruby waved her hands in a panic. "I-It's not about you or anything."

"Sorry. It's probably none of my business."

"It isn't!" she agreed, but sounded more frantic than offended for some reason. "It's definitely, _definitely_ none of your business, and also definitely not about you in any way, shape or form, so don't even think it is!"

"O…kay?"

"Yep."

"So…"

"Yep," Ruby repeated. She seemed to realise something was expected a second later, and she blurted out the first thing to cross her mind. "So, what kind of guy are you?"

Jaune blinked. "What?"

"Was that too forward? That was probably too forward. It's Yang's fault."

"Yang…?"

"Yep. Everything is her fault."

"I… don't really understand."

"Perfect," Ruby said, practically exhaling pure relief. "That's absolutely how things should be. A-Anyway, I'm going to just go back and strangle my- talk to my sister. I'll see you later, Jaune." She fled soon after, not even giving him the chance to say goodbye, let alone figure out what she was talking about in the first place.

Oobleck would probably want him to analyse that to divine her true meaning, but he had a feeling that would only confuse him more. Even if he and Ruby had become close enough to talk to one another, that didn't mean things weren't lost in translation. She'd been weird recently. He had no idea what to make of it, nor of Yang and her team's strange looks. On the bright side, the blonde seemed less eager to pound his face into mush, so maybe the accidental stalking had been forgotten. He could only hope so. Things had been peaceful lately. It would be best if they could stay that way.

/-/

"Well, that was easy enough."

"They're hardly anything special." Vanguard nudged a foot against an unconscious and badly injured terrorist laid at his feet. He'd have liked to kick harder, but leaving witnesses and prisoners for the police to pick up was part of their ongoing efforts to subtly inform the authorities what was going on. Provided they didn't somehow mess up the interrogation, that was. "The White Fang has been on a downslope for a while now, and Vale has to be the worst. I've seen drunken brawlers with more finesse than these idiots."

Magician's mask turned towards him. He could feel her smirking. "Is someone still bitter?"

He scoffed. "As if."

"Well, the Director will be happy enough to cross another location off the list," she said, nodding to the ruined building around them. It had been a supermarket once-upon-a-time, but a cheaper and more well-known one opening nearby had forced it into administration. Since then, it seemed terrorists had taken it over. Either way, there were no signs of the Paladins to be had.

The guard had been skeletal at best as well, and there wasn't any stolen dust to speak of. Racks and areas free from dust suggested there had been, but it seemed Roman Torchwick had decided it safer to shift some of the White Fang's storage bases around to try and fool his pursuers. A clever move. He'd have expected no less of such a man.

Now it would be up to the Director to see if he could sniff out the new trail, or perhaps Rat, if he stopped being such a whiny shit and got back into his missions. Vanguard sniffed and crossed his arms. "I'll record the interior if you want to finish securing these morons," he said, flicking on the camera in his visor. "Don't be afraid to treat them roughly." He kicked one for reference.

Magician sighed and turned in his direction, a rebuke no doubt fresh on her lips. At the last second, she spun, however, sweeping the back of her leg into his and sweeping him off his feet. Even as he fell, her hand tore a handgun out and shot twice – impacting a silvery blade that had been deadly close to his jugular.

"Shit," Vanguard growled, slamming into the concrete shoulder first and rolling up onto his feet. He fell in beside his partner, watching the assailant he'd neither heard nor sensed. The girl, for it was a young, short girl, watched them with amused eyes and an even more mischievous smirk. Her hair was twin shades of brown and pink, an unusual and distinctive style he knew he'd have recognised if he'd seen it before.

"She's fast," Magician hissed, her voice silent to the observer. "I almost didn't see her approach."

"I'm glad you did. Thanks, by the way."

"No problem."

Their new opponent inspected the two of them even as they did her. She casually strolled over to her discarded blade, a long and thin sword, and picked it up. Not once did her eyes leave their masks, nor did the smile leave her face. Despite her size, and being outnumbered, she seemed anything but afraid.

Overconfidence? Or skill? That was the ultimate question. Vanguard's eyes flickered towards the exit. Their mission was technically complete. Their job was to find and secure the Paladins, not get stuck in fights with whatever new enemy Torchwick threw their way. The best bet was to leave and report back to the Director.

If she would let them, that was.

"I don't recognise her," Magician whispered. "She isn't in the database."

Vanguard nodded and reached a hand up to his mask. He thumbed a switch on the side, allowing his voice to reach out over the speakers to the new girl. "We have no interest in fighting," he said. "But we will if you push the issue. Let us leave in peace."

The girl cocked her head at the sound of his voice from the smooth, black mask. It looked like she was trying to figure something out – perhaps his identity. She giggled silently and spread her feet a little further apart, her eyes narrowing.

As though they could ignore that. Vanguard kicked his metal rods up into his hands and charged – while Magician opened fire from behind. The bullets pinged uselessly off the floor as the girl dodged, but he engaged her before she could sweep around and close the distance onto his partner. The rod in his right hand crashed down towards her temple but was blocked on her weapon. He shifted his balance, slipping one foot past hers as he tore himself away and swept both rods for the back of her knees.

She dodged with unnatural grace, flipping back and placing both hands on his shoulders to use him as a springboard to push herself up and over him. He heard the whistle of steel, but something impacted it – driving her away. Magician ducked past him, kicking the girl back and hopping into the air, firing off six shots in rapid succession before she stopped to reload.

"She's fast," she whispered, somewhat needlessly.

"I know. Keep her pressured." He rushed in to do just that, lashing out towards her chest and driving her back with sheer force when she parried the blow. To his left, he heard Magician rush for higher ground, leaping onto one of the storage racks and start to run along it. If she could get behind the girl, they could pincer her and finish her off. If she was deep into Torchwick's inner circle, they might even take her back to the VSS HQ for questioning. Such thoughts were cut off entirely when she thrust a hand into his neck, catching him just below the mask and driving the oxygen from him.

He weaved back, knowing better than to take his eyes off his opponent lest she come in for a finishing blow. It did come – low and upwards, seeking to catch him in the groin and cut up through his body. He slammed a rod down into it, then stamped on her blade to rip it from her hand. His second rod swept across her neck, but she bent back on herself and kicked up with one foot, pulling a split vertically. The move was so unexpected that it caught his chin, and that gave her the time she needed to complete the backflip, grasping the hilt of her weapon and dragging it out from under him in one move.

Well, someone was more agile than they looked. The girl smiled cockily, but it was wiped away when gunfire rained down on her from behind and above. Magician had gotten into position while he kept her busy, and was now a good six metres up with a perfect view of the battlefield. The girl darted right for cover, body bent low. She darted behind some barrels and kicked one in his direction when he made to follow. Knowing from the sound that it was empty, he kicked it up into the air, then launched it in her direction with a powerful double-handed blow.

The thin metal careened through the air, striking the other barrels around her and bringing them all down in a loud and violent cacophony of metal. The girl snarled as they fell, and her eyes met his mask for a moment before she was buried. Vanguard paused, waiting for sounds or struggling beneath the mess. There was none.

Magician landed deftly beside him, rolling into a standing position and reloading her weapon. "Did we get her?"

"You saw as good as I," he said, not quite willing to sheathe his weapons just yet. "That was easy. Too easy."

"Perhaps she was just overconfident."

He frowned. "Perhaps…"

"If she were still moving, we'd hear her beneath all of that."

"True. Maybe I'm just paranoid."

"Not exactly hard given our profession, is it?" Magician laughed and put her weapon away. "Now we just need to- LOOK OUT!"

Vanguard didn't have the time to react before Magician kicked him away, using the force to push herself back as well. He struck the ground hard and rolled onto his knees in time to see the girl from before – apparently unharmed – engaging Magician and forcing her back.

"Shit," he cursed, pushing up and wrenching his rods back out. Magician was being pushed back, using her gun where she could to block the strikes, but taking kicks and blows every time she tried. This opponent was fast – too fast. "I'm on my way," he whispered, knowing she'd hear him. "Hold on!"

The multi-coloured girl noticed his approach, not a difficult task as he tore across the area. She pushed Magician back with one hand, taking the brief moment to concentrate. A second girl – identical in every way – sprung to life.

"Clones? Is that her Semblance?" Its blade flashed for his mask, but he leaned back and kicked for her chest, catching naught but air as she danced away. She focused on dodging more than parrying, her sword thin and light, all the better to cut and pierce through skin if it reached. Vanguard growled and lunged in, eager to close the distance and make it a contest of strength she would not win. When she made to duck back, he lashed out with one hand, reaching for her hair to drag her back.

His hand passed right through it – as though it didn't exist at all.

His eyes widened.

"It's an illusion!" he roared, spinning back to look at his partner. "Magician!"

Magician still fought with her opponent, but finally caught an opening. She deflected off and spun in the air, cocking the hammer on her gun and aiming for the girl's head. One shot blasted out – the force surely enough to stun her if nothing else.

It might have done, had it not passed straight through her body.

He heard Magician gasp, but he _saw_ the girl appear as though from thin air behind his partner. He cried a warning. It was not enough.

Trapped in the air and unable to change her trajectory, Magician fell down onto her foe, who was more than ready for her approach. Her gun was sent flying by one kick, and the next caught the back of her knee, driving her down to the floor. The sword flashed up and down, striking her once in the head – causing aura to flash, and then a second time on the shoulder, making it crackle. The third, a thrust, caught Magician in the lower back.

And pierced straight through, driving her body back so that she was pinned chest-first into some discarded dust crate.

"ARGHHH!"

Vanguard was on them instantly. Rage burned inside him as he swept down, catching the short girl's hand before she could withdraw the blade and strike again. This time she was real, and this time he earned a pained gasp for his effort. His second rod swung around, catching her in the jaw and throwing her back with a mighty crack. She struck the ground hard, but rolled back, determined to keep the distance and stop him following up.

He didn't try. One hand gripped the sword embedded in his partner, and with a silent apology he _wrenched_ it out. It might have been better to leave it in to stop bleeding, but not when it was pinning her to something. He didn't have the time nor room to try and snap it, either. "Hold on," he whispered. "I'll get you out of here."

Magician's response was a garbled, agonised whimper. She did not cry. She simply slumped on his shoulder as he wrapped an arm around her waist, securing her as best he could without touching the wound. His other arm reached towards the ceiling, and a hook shot out of his wrist launcher, the metallic rope tugging taut as he was dragged up and away. Down below, the girl rushed to her feet and made to follow, but had no way to gain such vertical motion. She stared up at them cockily, content with the damage she'd done.

Vanguard snarled back, whispering his own promise. She would not smile like that the next time they parted ways. He would kill her for this.

Magician whimpered in his arms.

But there were other things to take care of first.

/-/

"Are they okay!?" Jaune asked, bursting into Oobleck's office without knocking or asking. Had anyone else been there, it might have been a disaster, but Oobleck was alone, sat behind his desk with a pensive expression. He looked up.

"Shouldn't you be on your field trip?"

"That's in an hour. What happened!?"

"I know you received the report. I sent it to you."

Jaune scowled, unhappy with the evasive comments, and with Oobleck's lack of an answer. He stormed forwards and slammed both hands down on the table. "Are. They. Alive?" he repeated, speaking each word out loud to make it clear. "And what happened to them?"

"You should be preparing for your field trip. Don't tell me you came running here the moment you received the report?" He sighed dramatically, no doubt knowing the answer straight away. "Do you have any idea how suspicious that must have looked to your team? There will not be a single first year missing from this field trip. You can't keep reacting like this."

There was no arguing with that, but he wasn't in the moon to and simply held Oobleck's gaze. Eventually, the man caved with a little sigh.

"Magician was badly injured but will live. Vanguard was unharmed and was able to get her out."

"Who did it?"

"We do not know. From the recording I received, it seems to be an associate of Roman Torchwick's. We can assume she intervened or was guarding the location I sent the two of them to investigate. It may have been a trap, or merely a way of striking back at us for what we did before." Oobleck sighed and leaned back. "I'm afraid this means the end of your little holiday, Rat. With Magician injured, Vanguard is going to need someone to back him up."

Jaune nodded, more eager than he thought he would be. "What's our next step?"

"As of right now? Nothing."

"Nothing!?" It wasn't what he'd expected, nor what he wanted to hear. "How can we do nothing, when one of our own was just attacked like that?"

"Because decisions made in haste will lead only to mistakes." He sighed and gestured for Jaune to sit down. He did not, and Oobleck rolled his eyes but continued regardless. "It would be my utmost pleasure to find and take revenge on this girl, believe me. It would be a satisfying feeling, but not a valuable one. If she was able to fight the two of them evenly, albeit with the element of surprise, then she is dangerous. Sadly, she is also not an objective. What are our goals, Rat?"

"Protect the Kingdom," Jaune repeated. "To find the stolen Paladins and return them to Atlas right now, and also to infiltrate and find out what's going on between Torchwick and the White Fang." He sighed, realising his mentor's point. "And it's not to find and get rid of every strong enemy we come across."

"That is correct, as unfortunate as it may be. Should the opportunity present itself, we might see fit to invoke a little reprisal of sorts, but we cannot afford to be distracted by what is essentially a mission gone bad. Magician has been injured before, as has Vanguard. You will too, in time. It is never a case of _if_ but when." He smiled and waved one hand. "She will recover, though I'll pass on that you were worried for her wellbeing. I'm sure that will make her feel happy."

"There isn't anything I can do to help?"

"Not now, no. Honestly, you should not have come here like this, but what's done is done. Whether Roman is aware of exactly who he is dealing with or not, it's clear he is at least prepared to fight back against us for what happened in the last warehouse. You had best be prepared for that," he warned. "Both you and John White."

Because he might be called in to help Roman, in which case he would have to do exactly as the crook said to keep his cover secure. He nodded, seeing the dismissal for what it was and making his way back out of the office. He was still angry. It was hard not to be. He didn't know Magician's face or name, but in the short amount of time they'd spend together, they'd gotten on fairly well.

He felt like he knew more about her than he did his own partner – which probably said bad things about his ability as a team leader. _Do I really feel closer to Vanguard and Magician than I do the rest of my team, or am I just overreacting because I'm worried about one of them being hurt?_ It was hard to say, and he was hard-pressed to decide if it was a bad thing or not.

In the future, there was nothing to say he would be teamed up with Vanguard and Magician again, whereas he'd be with his team for all his years in Beacon. It was while he was thinking about them that one caught up, though out of everyone to follow him he'd expected Blake the least. She slowed down when she saw him, eyes narrowed in goodness knows what as she looked him up and down, either to check for damage or just to see whether he'd bolt again. He knew she had questions, they showed in her eyes, and he flushed with colour as he walked up to her.

"Hey, Blake…"

"Hey yourself," she returned, her voice carefully neutral. "Pyrrha and Ren decided to continue packing for you since it was clear you were in such a rush."

He cringed at the thought. "I'll have to thank them."

"Hm…" Blake's expression wasn't wary as she looked him in the eye, but it wasn't relaxed either. "Do I warrant an apology as well? You did knock me out of the way."

He had? He hadn't even realised. He sighed and bowed his head. "I'm sorry, Blake."

"So, is there something wrong? Pyrrha couldn't get so much as a word out of you this morning, and you bolted the moment you read your scroll." She nodded to his pocket. "What happened?"

"A friend of mine was hurt," he said, deciding to go with the truth – or at least as far as he could. "I'm sorry about earlier but I was really worried about her."

Blake's frown softened. Of all the excuses he could have given, it was probably the only one – save a natural disaster – that would have gotten him out of trouble. He'd have felt guilty if it was a lie, so was lucky this time he could tell the truth.

"Is she okay, this friend of yours?"

"She's alive. I didn't know that earlier," he added, waving a hand weakly. "Hence the… well, this morning."

"I understand. I can't exactly hold a grudge for that, so I'll let it go." Blake stepped a little to the side and nodded her head to ask if he wanted to fall in line and walk together. Having little else to do, and both heading in the same direction, he did. "How did your friend get hurt?" she asked.

"She got in a fight."

Blake hummed in understanding, even if her eyes flickered to his. He'd thought to say it was a work accident at first, technically true but less suspicious, but with how panicked he'd been, and with how his chest still rose and fell angrily now, he didn't think she'd believe it. If it had been something as simple as a normal job, then there was no way he would have acted out so much.

"Is this one of the friends you went drinking with before?"

"Yeah." In a manner of speaking.

"What is she like?"

The questions were innocent enough, but odd coming from Blake. He wondered why for a second, but quickly realised it wasn't suspicion on her part but an actual attempt to make him feel better by distracting him. He smiled at the realisation, and at the fact she'd want to do that at all for him. Still, the question itself was difficult, if only because he didn't know much about Magician.

"She's a girl," he began, earning a patient eye-roll from Blake. "Friendly, but definitely not a pushover. She likes to tease people, too, but she isn't annoying about it. Not like Yang is, anyway." He wracked his mind for more information while Blake chuckled at his joke. A random idea struck, a stroke of genius on a muttered sentence Magician had once dropped. "She's also a faunus, which gets her some grief. Her partner doesn't mind, though. He seems okay with it."

"Her partner? They're Huntsmen?"

"Romantic partner." He had no idea what Magician or Vanguard would think about that, but it was the best excuse he had. "They're a faunus and human couple. It doesn't bother either of them, though."

"Nor you, apparently." Blake pointed out.

"Me? Nah, it's not like it makes a difference to me." There had been some faunus in Ansel, but even then it was only the really old people who had any grievances against them. Usually people old enough to have fought and lost people in the faunus wars. "They're good people," he said. "I guess that's why I was so worried this morning."

"Do you think she was attacked because she's a faunus?"

The answer was obvious, but he couldn't really say that. He shrugged instead, content to leave the idea hanging in the air. It was as good an excuse as any.

"Faunus have it hard," she whispered.

"Everyone has it hard."

"What do you mean? I don't see such prejudice towards humans – at least not on such a scale." Blake's eyes flashed angrily, though he wasn't sure why. In return, he shrugged.

"Don't Grimm kill everyone equally?"

Blake looked away.

"Vale has all sorts of problems," he sighed. "Not least of all the Grimm, but also Torchwick running around stealing all the dust and if that's not enough, we have the White Fang running around trying to plot the destruction of the entire city."

"What!?" Blake's head shot up, eyes wide. "W-What do you mean?"

His heart stopped for a second, before he quickly caught himself and tried to rescue the situation. He shouldn't have said that. Shouldn't have even _known_ that. "Well that's just what it looks like," he said. "I mean, that news report said they had all the dust in that warehouse. There's only one person in Vale stealing that much dust, so that means Torchwick is working with them."

"They'd never work with a human, and definitely a criminal like _him_."

"Then where did they get it all from? That dust didn't just magically appear."

"I guess… but that doesn't mean they're planning something like that."

He wasn't sure why, but Blake's denials made his teeth itch. She didn't know, he tried to tell himself. She had no idea what the White Fang were like. That wasn't her fault, or even a bad thing at all, but it still annoyed him to hear her suggest otherwise. He'd fought against them. He'd… he'd killed them. Or at least been directly responsible for all their deaths. They were evil. They had to be. Luckily, he had the exact same reasoning Oobleck had given him.

"What else would a terrorist organisation that likes to attack and bomb humans going to do with all that stolen dust? It's not like it's for recreational purposes." He scoffed. "Not unless they want to power the world's biggest lights display to show how peaceful they are. While working with a wanted criminal at the same time."

She didn't answer him. Didn't say anything at all, really. Then again, he'd probably taken the mood and executed it talking like that.

"Forget what I'm saying," he said, laughing. "I'm just upset about my friend, that's all. Come on, let's go catch up with the others and do this field trip. It'll be fun."

"Yeah," Blake said, not quite meeting his eyes. "Fun."

"Blake?"

Her eyes widened, and she quickly snapped herself out of whatever funk she was in. "Don't mind me. I'm just… There's just some things on my mind. That's all. It's not anything to worry about. I'll be fine."

* * *

 **And there we go. Some key things that need to happen before other things happen, and in a particular order. Magician is now out, at least for now, and Jaune is back in.**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 29** **th** **October**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hoo boy, so, people from a long while back might remember that I had a long period of a few months where I was one-armed due to wrist surgery. Well, the problem has come back after a year or two. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome due to the vast amount of typing I do, not just on fanfiction but in my other jobs, too. I've told the doctor I can't do surgery again as it's all kinds of pointless. It solves the problem at the time, but unless I change my lifestyle it comes back, and I can't give up writing for months since all three of my jobs are writing based.**

 **So, my left wrist is now in a splint and brace, and will be for a while. I think I'll get used to it, but for now it's weird and uncomfortable and makes writing an absolute nightmare. As such, it's all a little harder for me and I might make a few silly spelling mistakes due to the metal plates preventing my full range of movement, etc… I'll try to catch them in editing, but this is just to let you all know.**

* * *

 **Chapter 15**

* * *

The Bullhead ride to Forever Fall was oddly muted, and most of it was probably his fault. Ren and Pyrrha had accepted the same excuse he'd given Blake for his running off, but seemed to think the best thing they could do to help was provide him with a respectful silence and their support should he need it. Meanwhile, Blake hadn't said a word since their discussion about the White Fang, so there was nothing on that end either. Where Ruby had been happy to speak with him before, she seemed to have clammed up in front of her team – essentially leaving him to stew silently as they made their way to the destination.

He'd never been so happy to touch down, even if it meant listening to a long speech from Miss Goodwitch on what they were supposed to be doing. Spread out, stick spikes into trees, collect the purple stuff that came out and jar it up. It wasn't glamorous work, nor was it even slightly related to the skills of a huntsman, but since pointing that out meant dealing with Miss Goodwitch's raised eyebrow and patented frown, no one complained.

"We should stick together," Yang said, instantly latching onto our team in a manner that was both random and incredibly suspicious. Ruby covered her face with her hands and mumbled something under her breath, while Weiss rolled her eyes and even Blake looked mildly disturbed. Nora, of course, leapt at the opportunity.

"Dibs!" she chirped, latching onto Ren's arm.

"He's _my_ partner," Pyrrha complained.

"I'll take the temporary reprieve for what it is," Weiss said, moving over to stand next to Pyrrha. She whispered something to the redhead, whose eyes widened. Pyrrha suddenly glanced to Ruby and then to Jaune, nodding her head and smiling in what could only be a conspiratorial manner.

It put him on edge instantly. His eyes narrowed.

"Yeah, maybe we should switch things up," Yang said dramatically. "I'll go with-"

"I'm with Jaune," Blake interrupted, seeing the writing on the wall and no doubt imagining what it might be like being partnered with Yang. Loud, dangerous and annoying came to mind, especially if she started with the puns again. He wasn't sure whether being compared favourably to Yang's puns was a compliment or not, but he'd take it. At least it couldn't have meant Blake was too upset with him. That was a relief.

Yang seemed frustrated her cunning ploy hadn't worked out, but the teams moving into Forever Fall brought an end to it, and they followed after, moving a little off to one side until they found a secluded area no one else seemed to have been to. From the corner of one eye, he caught Cardin and his team moving off in the opposite direction, the four teens talking to themselves and animatedly waving their hands about.

 _At least I won't have to deal with Cardin today,_ he thought. _Coco must have scared him enough to give me a break._ He had the information on Cardin from the VSS, but it hadn't really given him all that much to work with. The Winchester line was an old and distinguished one, though always in war and battle in one way or another. At one point, they'd been patron to several charities and orphanages, the kind of name that was looked on with awe, respect and a soft smile. That had changed after the faunus wars, where Cardin's grandfather had fought and died, and where Cardin's father had lost several of his siblings to abductions, executions and various battles. Cardin himself had been born after it, but it looked like he'd picked up the animosity his father had for the faunus who had killed everyone he held dear.

His first instincts on asking for that information had been to try and find something he could use to either blackmail or stop Cardin from being such a bastard, but what he'd read had left him a little disturbed and he'd thought better of it. While Cardin didn't have any real reason to hate faunus, his father certainly did, and his treatment of them seemed to have been taught more than developed. The whole situation had `complicated` written all over it, and if he was being honest with himself, he had better things to focus on.

One of those things was buzzing his scroll at that very moment.

Jaune glanced over to the others to see if they'd heard, but everyone was loudly chatting among one another while tapping their trees, and they'd lazily drifted further apart once it was clear no Grimm were in the area. He allowed himself to drift a little further before he brought out his scroll and held it before his mouth. "Director?"

"Rat," Oobleck replied, voice sharp and official. He wasted no time with pleasantries. "I have a mission for you."

Jaune looked back to the others. "Now?"

"Yes. A recent intel report has come in from one of my Agents in Atlas. The anomaly is in the Forever Fall region and I need you to investigate. I'm patching the coordinates through to your scroll now." There was a flicker and a ping as a map came up, not only highlighting his position, but also a marker a middling distance to the east. "I don't have the resources to send someone out here on their own, and with you already in the area it's a chance we can't afford to pass up. This is a priority mission."

He couldn't have picked a worse time, could he? Jaune swallowed and looked back to his team for the third time, idly hoping one would be staring back or that Pyrrha would come over to work next to him, robbing him of the opportunity to leave at all. None did. They were distracted and hard at work, a perfect chance for him to slip away. Damn it.

"You realise this will make me look pretty suspicious, right?"

"I believe the potential gains worth the risk," Oobleck replied. "The reason you are out there in the first place is because Forever Fall is almost entirely Grimm-infested. No one should be out there but you. For this to not be the case is worrying."

"I get it, I get it." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I'll see what I can do, but I don't have any of my equipment on me."

"That is perhaps for the best. You would not want anyone to see that. I'll trust this with you, Rat. Don't let us down." The call flickered off, though the map remained, the dot that was his destination blinking dark red.

 _Don't let us down, he says. Fah._ His holiday had only officially ended an hour or two ago, but Oobleck was already enlisting him for something. He shot one last look to the others, just to make sure nothing had changed, and then made a slow show of leaving his tree – moving over to another more than ten metres away. He drove the spoke into it, drained a little more sap, and then, when they were all busy once more, repeated the motion, moving further again. On the third tree, he ducked behind the trunk and slipped away.

There was no telling how long he'd have before they noticed, and notice they would if he took too long, so he rushed through the forest at a fast-paced walk, watching the floor with one eye to make sure he didn't trip, and the map with the other. Cartography hadn't ever really been a skill of his, but he knew the basics, at least in the case that the closer together lines were, the steeper the land was. The actual numbers meant nothing to him. Luckily, the place he was being sent to seemed to be between several steep hills, but on relatively flat terrain itself. As he pushed through some crimson-tinted bushes, the distance above the marker became lesser and lesser.

He loosened Crocea Mors in its sheathe as it came down to just a hundred metres or so. If Oobleck didn't know what this was, there was a fair chance it could be dangerous. That wasn't something he fancied his chances with, but his job was just to investigate, right? He could back out once he'd figured out whatever it was.

 _And if I get in trouble I can shout out for help,_ he told himself. The forest was crawling with Beacon students, not to mention Miss Goodwitch, and he wasn't so far away from them that he wouldn't be heard or missed. The reminder helped to calm him down, and he let out a quick breath as he crept closer. It was perfectly safe. If he so much as saw something dangerous, he'd book it back to the others yelling at the top of his lungs. Everything would be fine.

Something dark and angular appeared through the trees. His pace slowed as it came into view, but there was no movement or motion. It didn't belong, being mostly steel and iron, but it wasn't alive, either. He watched the shape for a few seconds just to be sure, but when it was clear the area was abandoned, even to the point that birds had landed atop it, he stepped out from the tree line. The birds scattered at his approach, squawking angrily as they went. What they left behind was a twisted and mangled heap of metal and wood, but not one that was hard to identify.

His hand left Crocea Mors as he inspected the ruined thing. It was a train carriage, or car, or whatever they called them. It was twisted and on its side, having fallen from a rail track he hadn't realised was in the area. Two more had fallen further down, but the ones beyond that remained upright on the rails – still abandoned, but upright at the very least.

"This must be what he meant," he whispered. He drew out his scroll and took a few pictures, then moved closer to have a better look. The sides of the train might once have been marked, but were now pitted and scarred, not just from the impact but also moss and dirt that had solidified and grown over it.

 _It's strange, though. Wouldn't the people who operate the tracks have cleared this by now? It's an accident waiting to happen if another train comes through._ There was no sign of any repair crews, however, and with Forever Fall being all but lost territory, there likely wasn't going to be.

He hesitated by one of the upright cars, but eventually gave in and tugged at the door. It was seized shut and refused to move, but he kept tugging until it eventually gave way. To his annoyance, it revealed an empty car, and worse still, that the door on the other side had been opened already. Whatever had been within was gone, but the question was who took it. Had it been passengers leaving, or scavengers arriving? And who would come and attack a train out in the middle of this place anyway?

His scroll snapped a few more pictures, but the two other cars on the track were just as empty as the first, and he couldn't get the upturned ones to open – their mechanisms likely damaged and locked by the fall.

 _Speaking of, there's no head or main train to actually pull these, so it can't have been a crash._ There were no bodies either, something he was relieved about even if a part of him whispered that any would have been taken away by now and eaten by wild animals. There would have still been scraps of clothing or skeletons. _Maybe they evacuated the survivors and all the value stuff and left the train cars behind until later. That would make sense, sort of._

Except that if that were the case, the VSS would have surely known about it. A rescue mission on that level would have been a big deal, and it wasn't like an official company would have been able to keep it hidden from them.

 _Why would they even try?_

Something caught his eye as he skulked around the front-most tram, the one that was the most damaged. It was subtle at first, but he noticed an unusually shaped groove in the dirt. One that even someone as untrained as he would notice – a deep hole with a clean cut coming out the side. It was thin and long, like something had been dug into it and then cut to the side. Beside it, baked into the hot mud was a single mark. The heel of a footprint.

There was nothing else. It must have been dug in fairly hard, and with the hole next to it, it almost looked like someone had dug something into the dirt and then dragged themselves by it. Maybe it was someone who had been in the wreckage, someone who had been pinned or hurt and who had used some kind of leverage to get out. He ran his fingers over it, but didn't really know what he was supposed to be looking for. After a quick sigh, he snapped another picture. Oobleck would know. Or he'd know someone who could figure it out.

"I guess that's my job done," he said, rising to his feet with a little sigh. A quick check of his scroll said he'd been missing ten minutes at most – a small amount of time, but surely enough for people to have noticed. Whether it had been enough for panic to set in was another matter. They might assume he'd gone to take a leak, or that he was around but out of sight.

 _Either way, I'd better get back before it gets much worse._

The moment he tried, he noticed the cave. How he hadn't before, he had no idea, but maybe it was because it dug into the mountain behind him, out of sight from the angle he'd approached. It was dark and ominous in a way all caves were, and was less than twenty metres from the point of the accident.

Jaune stared at it.

Oobleck would want him to go in. He might know if he didn't, or at least ask why. He _really_ didn't want to, though. It wasn't any instinct warning him of danger, more his imagination, but damn it if wandering off into an unknown cave didn't sound like the worst decision to make in Grimm territory, then he had no idea what would.

He shot another longing look back in the direction he'd come from. People would still be close enough to hear if he screamed, not to mention the fact his aura was in one piece and he could defend himself if he needed to. He idly wished he had those sunglasses he'd found in his locker, or maybe his mask, just so he could activate the night vision or thermal scans. Served him right for not thinking to bring them, but Miss Goodwitch would have something to say if he summoned his locker.

"Damn it all," he hissed, pulling out his scroll and flicking the light on. He drew Crocea Mors, even though he didn't see or hear anything dangerous. It just made him feel better to have a light in one hand and a sword in the other.

As the beams of artificial light cut into the darkness, he took a tentative step inside, and then a second when the first didn't end with a Beowolf trying to tear his throat out. It was on the fourth step that he relaxed, and by the fifth he was stood with his sword limp at his side.

It was a cave, but it wasn't nearly as deep as his imagination had painted it. At most, it was probably ten metres in, and only two tall in some places, with the back wall curving downwards to meet the floor. His light bounced off the walls, quickly showing that there weren't any small passages leading off. It wasn't really a cave system so much as a hole dug into the wall, maybe by Grimm, nature or even ancient humans. There were also no Grimm, obviously, and he clumsily sheathed his sword in the dark, fighting to keep the torch pointed out so that he didn't stumble and crack his head open.

A quick scan of the area also showed that there were no bodies, decomposed or otherwise, so if the mysterious survivor had sought shelter in the cave, which seemed the obvious result, then he hadn't died and hadn't stuck around either. There were some ashes off by one wall, laid low in a small alcove with some rocks around it, probably to keep it from spreading. It was near the entrance so that the smoke would flow out. Beside it, there were also some shells – not from an egg, but probably some kind of nut or fruit.

So, someone had been here. Hadn't Oobleck said it was lost territory, though? _That would make this a huntsman or huntress, but is that really suspicious? It could be someone out travelling, or just investigating the crash like I am._ He took another picture anyway, just to prove he'd checked the place out. As the camera went off, the flash reflected off something by the back wall. Crouching down by it, he brushed aside some dirt to reveal a white mask.

A pebble was crushed underfoot behind him.

Panic shot through him as he spun, Crocea Mors coming out in a ferocious rasp of steel as he swung back. It hit nothing, mostly because the person had taken a step back out of range. Yellow eyes reflected his torchlight, narrowed and set in a face he recognised easily. It wasn't an ugly face by any means, but as the light flashed over it in the dark cave it was almost enough to make his heart stop. As it was, it was only his sudden terror that turned his scream into a startled squeak. By the time he regained his breath, the moment had passed and he slumped over, hands on his knees as the light from his scroll winked out.

"Gods, Blake," he hissed, "You scared the hell out of me."

"It seems so." She didn't apologise, and her eyes roved up and down, settling after a moment on his face. He could only make out the barest details of her silhouetted against the cave entrance, but her thin lips were clear. "What are you doing here?" she asked. "You left the group without so much as warning us. Do you have any idea how dangerous the area is?"

"Sorry. I saw something and wanted to have a look."

"This is too far a distance to have seen anything." She didn't call him a liar. Didn't have to, really. She simply pointed out the obvious flaw and left him to try and fill in the rest. He swallowed and tried to think up something, cursing Oobleck the entire time, but he never had a chance. Blake's eyes fell to his hand and what he had in it and she gasped. "W-What is that?"

"Huh, this?" He lifted it up, the white and red mask familiar to him, not that he could admit that. "I found it in the dust back there. It..." He debated lying, but decided against it. "It looks like a White Fang mask."

"It… It is." Her right hand tightened into a fist. "Or at least I'm sure it is. From what I've seen on news reports, I mean."

"They're fairly recognisable, yeah." Jaune stood, uncertain what to do. "So… you came to find me? Sorry if it was any trouble."

"Someone had to. You were gone too long." It looked like she wanted to ask why again, but knowing he hadn't answered honestly the first time, didn't bother. "We should get back to the others," she said instead, turning away slightly. "There's nothing to be seen here."

"Apart from this train wreck, you mean." Jaune said, relief mixing with the need to talk, if only so the tension could go away faster. "What do you think happened to it?"

"I have no idea."

"The White Fang mask came from the cave. Do you think they had something to do with it?"

"No clue."

She was stiff-shouldered, and had he been more observant, or capable of seeing better in the gloom, he might have responded to it. As it was, relief had loosened his tongue and he kept rambling. "Why else would it be here? If the White Fang were after something from the train, then I wonder what was it was carryi-"

"I don't know!" Blake growled, cutting him off from her visceral anger alone. "I don't know, and I don't care! We shouldn't be here. This isn't what we came here for. We're supposed to be gathering sap, not… not wandering off to find things like this."

"I just saw-"

"You didn't," she accused. "You didn't _see_ anything. You came out here on your own. I saw you. I watched you leave. I watched you make sure no one else was looking and then make your way straight here without stopping." He wasn't sure whether she meant it or not, but her hand fell to her weapon. Where before she'd seemed content to let the lie slip by, her eyes were now narrowed into yellow slits. "Why?" she asked. "Why did you come here? How did you even find this place?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"Liar," she whispered. "You're lying again. Too many times," she added, shaking her head. Her fingers settled around the grip of Gambol Shroud, and suddenly the atmosphere in the cave felt a lot more dangerous. "Who are you?"

"I'm Jaune," he returned, both hands held out before him, voice low. His breath was coming out a little faster, but that was to be expected. He was trapped in the cave with the only exit being to break past his partner. A partner who was looking more and more like she was about to attack him. "I'm your partner, Blake. I'm your teammate. I'm your friend."

"Are you, Jaune?" she asked, smiling sadly. "Because right now, I'm honestly beginning to doubt that."

/-/

Roman lit a cigar and watched patiently as Neo mimed the final part of her report, running an imaginary sword through an unfortunate victim. The smile on her face was vicious, indicating her pleasure at the memory. Once she was done, she smiled happily and flopped down on the couch opposite him.

"Nice work, Neo. So, is the person dead?"

She frowned and held one hand up, rocking it back and forth in a `maybe` motion.

"Injured, then," he amended. "Sounds like they'll take some time to recover if they _are_ alive, either way. That's good for us."

Revealing Neo so early was a risky move, especially since her greatest advantages lay as an ambush predator, striking and killing her foe before they knew she was there, and more importantly, before they knew what her unique abilities were. The news would get back to the people in charge, making her far less of a surprise the next time around. Still, that had been a calculated risk.

"This gives us a grace period if nothing else," he said. "If the two of them couldn't handle you alone, they'll not want to send one to intervene with the two of us. This is our best chance to handle Cinder's little contract without it blowing up in our faces." He leaned back in the couch, raising his voice. "Rufus!"

A tall and bearded man with blonde hair approached. "You called, Roman?"

"Alert our animalistic _friends_ ," he said, putting special emphasis on the word. "We'll be hitting the docks in two nights, and be sure to mention it's a Schnee freighter. That'll get the idiots eager and ready."

"I'll make the arrangements." The man hesitated. "Sir, if you'll forgive me, will you be taking any of us with you?"

"I'll have Neo watching from a distance, but other than that, the lady wants this to be a purely White Fang thing, albeit with me in charge to make sure they don't mess the whole thing up." And he was a necessity there for sure. Without proper supervision, those idiots were more likely to set the whole docks off, citing it as a `message` for the SDC or some such nonsense.

"I think we'd all feel happier if you took someone you could trust with you, boss." Rufus said. "The young lady notwithstanding."

"And I would too, Rufus. I really would. Orders are orders, though. No one from my little organisation is to take part." Roman sighed dramatically and reached for his cigar. An idea struck him the second he did. "Although, she only said not to bring my people along. That wouldn't really include anyone I was testing now, would it?"

Rufus smiled. "It might not. Do you want me to arrange for some of the new bloods to tag along?"

"Not many," Roman warned. "I don't want to push my luck with that woman. In fact, just one, and I've got the perfect guy in mind. In fact, leave it to me. I'll give the kid a call and set it up."

"As you will," Rufus said, backing away and drawing a scroll from his suit pocket.

Neo tapped Roman's knee for attention, and then cocked her head to the side in silent question.

"You'll meet him at the time," he chuckled, rubbing her head. "The kid's smart, I'll give him that, but it takes more than brains to make it here. If he has what it takes, you'll get a chance to play around with him."

`And if he doesn't? ` Neo's smile seemed to ask.

"Then you'll get your chance to play around with him in a bit more of a _permanent_ manner," Roman said, laughing.

Neo's smile was filled with teeth.

/-/

Jaune didn't dare move even after a minute or two had passed. Blake was the stronger fighter in every way that counted, not to mention the fact that fighting her was out of the question anyway since she was his teammate. "I _am_ on your side, Blake. I promise. I don't get why you'd think I'm not."

"What am I supposed to think when you keep doing things like this?"

"That I'm weird?" The joke fell flat when she didn't smile. "Okay, not the right time. I get that. I… There are…" He chuckled weakly. "How do I say this?"

Blake frowned, but didn't move her hand away from her weapon. "I find the truth is a good start."

"Not always."

Her eyes narrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"That I can't give you anything you'd accept. Whoa, whoa," he said, waving his hands when she moved one foot back. "I'm not your enemy, Blake. I promise you. I'm not trying to do anything and the reason I'm not fighting back is because I don't want to hurt you."

"Not because you couldn't beat me if you tried?" she asked. "Or was that a lie, too?"

"That wasn't," he admitted, laughing nervously. "I'll be honest, you could kill me here and I wouldn't have a chance, but I _would_ scream. A lot. I can scream like a terrified girl really well. It's a skill I've mastered." Despite the joking tone, his mouth was dry and his heart beating rapidly. It would be enough time to summon help, but it would also take the others long enough for Blake to do whatever it was she had in mind.

What frightened him the most was that he didn't know what that might be. She was too unpredictable, too much of an unknown. Oobleck hadn't even warned him about her, or even mentioned she might be a danger.

"I want to know who you are," she said.

"I'm Jaune Arc."

"Is that even your name?"

"Y-Yeah, of course. I'm not sure what you're thinking, Blake, but it's nothing that bad. You're acting like I'm out to get you or something."

"Aren't you?" "No! You're my partner. You're part of my team. Just because I can't tell you everything doesn't mean I'm against you or something. I was just investigating this wreck for-" He cut himself off with a hiss.

Blake caught it. "For whom?"

"I… can't answer that."

"That's not making me trust you any more right now, Jaune."

"I-I can understand that, I really can." He swallowed again and wondered if the others might come to investigate and save him, and whether that would be a good thing at all. She might just tell them all of this, and that would make things worse. His continued mission _required_ him to stay incognito. He literally could not afford to have the whole team know what was going on. "Look, I can't tell you everything, but I _can_ tell you I'm not working with any bad people."

"Define bad people."

"I'm not working with criminals."

"The Schnee Dust Company?"

"What? No." He stared at her. "Why would you think that?"

"Forget it. So, you admit you _are_ working with somebody."

Had he? Crap. Oobleck hadn't really ever covered situations like this. He had a feeling he usual response was to escape or kill the people – probably both, and in the other order. Could he kill Blake?

 _It's for the best for the people of Vale…_

But she was his teammate. She was a friend.

 _Friends don't threaten one another in dark caves._

Okay, so they weren't the best of friends, and this wasn't looking to make it any better either, but it was close enough. What he didn't understand was just why she was taking it so badly. Accusations of lies he could accept, but the very real possibility she'd attack him? That was too much. No one responded like that. Not unless they had something they were afraid of. Not unless they had something to hide. He saw her eyes flicker to his hand once more, and everything fell into place.

"You're a faunus," he breathed. "You… You're White Fang."

He should have kept the thought silent. Gambol Shroud came out, and he'd only gotten Crocea Mors halfway before she slammed into him, her body pushing his back against the wall. He tried to knee her, but she blocked it with her thigh, then rammed her shoulder into his gut and wrenched his sword away. It clattered against the stone, and the next thing he knew was that her forearm was pressed against his throat, and her eyes were hovering before his.

"How?" she demanded, voice a sibilant hiss. "How did you know?"

"Y-Your eyes."

They narrowed. "Explain."

"You never had a torch with you. You came into the cave, watched my every move and reacted to it." He struggled to breathe, but her grip was firm. "I could only see you because you were back set against the entrance, but you had no problem seeing me. Seeing everything."

"Tch, what a stupid mistake to make…"

"It's true, then," he whispered. He felt afraid, but also angry. Furious, even. "You're with the White Fang. You're a terrorist. How could you?"

She hissed. "No! I'm not a part of them!" She pushed him back, moving her hand off his throat but kicking his sword away and pointing her gun at him. "You don't get to turn this on me, either. I'm the one with the gun. I'm the one asking questions. Who are you, Jaune? Who do you work for? It's not the White Fang. Not with that response. Who are you with?"

"I can't tell you."

"That's not good enough," she said, backing away slightly to cover the exit. "It's not enough."

"It'll have to be," he hissed, pushing back a little. "What are you going to do, Blake? Kill me? Are you going to murder me in a dark cave? How do you plan to explain _that_ to Beacon?" If she even made it that far. Oobleck would find out – and no doubt kill her himself. It wouldn't do him a fat lot of good here, but it was worth keeping in mind.

"I don't want to hurt you, Jaune."

"Well great!" He laughed bitterly. "That makes two of us, but if I'm meant to believe that, you could do to lower the gun."

"I don't want to… But I will."

Okay. Not great. It was too dark to accurately read her expression and he wasn't confident enough to judge whether she was bluffing or not. Not enough to stake his life on, and it definitely looked like it was riding on this.

"I'm used to running away," she continued. "I'm used to losing everything and starting afresh. I've done it twice now. I can do it a third time."

 _Just who the hell are you!?_ he wondered. Well, it wasn't like he was in a position to ask or demand answers. "Let's not be hasty. Our teammates-"

"Will find us soon," Blake agreed. She sounded resigned, almost sad. "I don't want to move on again. I like it here, but I won't risk my life because of you, Jaune. I want answers and I want them now. Convince me I can trust you."

She aimed the barrel towards his forehead, and he wasn't sure if it was a trick of the low light or not, but he almost thought he saw frustrated tears in her eyes.

"Please," she begged, finger on the trigger. "Let me trust you."

* * *

 **So, yeah, a little shorter due to me trying to get used to this splint. It's rough at the moment, but I remember from last time that it's just a case of practise. It really hurts right now, though (mostly because my wrist is still trying to move like it normally does when I type). Sadly, I am a fast writer, but I have what is probably a very poor typing technique in which my left wrist moves a lot.**

 **That Fanfiction-related injury, though.**

 **Not exactly something to win over the girls when digging for sympathy. "Yeah, I was just writing my RWBY fanfiction when – wait, where are you all going? Come back T_T…"**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 5** **th** **November**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	16. Chapter 16

**So, I was pleased to see that a lot of people last chapter were able to stomach the hypocrisy for what it was – kind of Blake's character at the time. I was worried some would instead have a go at me, since I know how much hypocrisy is despised in fanfiction. It was definitely intended to be as such, however.**

 **What I will say is that I faced a bit of a quandary this chapter. I had a plan in mind, and I was happy with it, but several people in reviews accurately guessed it (as inevitably does happen), and seemed really against the idea – perhaps for understandable reasons. In the short-term, it was definitely an annoying thing, but it would pay off in the long-term of my plan. My initial instinct was to adapt to the reviews (which were perfectly polite, by the way. Just sort of "I hope X doesn't happen because… and inserted a good reason"). I thought to myself that maybe in the search of immediate reader satisfaction, I'd change my plan – and I agonised over it for ages. Luckily, a student of mine last night reminded me that I did that once in "The Entertainer", essentially toning down the entire tone of the fic because I was worried about what a few reviews said. As a result, my plan got derailed and the finished product felt weaker for it.**

 **This time, I'm going to stick to my guns. Those people doubting it aren't wrong to do so, and they're just expressing their opinion. But to them, who will likely know who they are when they see what happens, I'll just say that I hope you'll try and stomach it in the short-term, because it** _ **will**_ **pay off later. I'm not saying you need to** _ **like**_ **it, and a part of me hopes people** _ **will**_ **be a little "This is a bad idea, Jaune", but I don't want to portray Jaune as always perfect and always succeeding, and given that this is a subterfuge and intrigue fic, I want more angles.**

 **Enough notes – and sorry for the length of them.**

* * *

 **Chapter 16**

* * *

The man behind the desk looked up as he entered. "Rat," he said, nodding his head once in greeting.

"Oobleck," Jaune returned, taking a deep breath and forcing himself to take the few short steps towards his superior. His mouth felt dry, his hands clammy, and sap from the trip still clung to his body, staining his clothes purple in some places. His skin itched, and he had the unwelcome suspicion he might be allergic to the stuff.

His mentor noticed. "You could have taken a shower before you reported to me if you desired it. I'm not so impatient I wouldn't have granted you that." Offering it to him now was pointless, and Jaune shrugged helplessly. The man looked down to Jaune's hand. "Is that the information I asked you for?"

"Yes."

Oobleck smiled and took the scroll from him, laying it next to his own and then connecting them with a thin wire. Jaune leaned in and entered his password when prompted, half-wondering if the VSS already knew or had hacked it, and whether the gesture was more a motion to politeness than anything. Once it was unlocked, Oobleck began to transfer the images to his scroll.

"Perfect. You've done well. It was a Schnee dust transport, you know? The railway is a private one and built at some expense, and the trains are crewed by only a minor staff, the rest being robotic in nature." Oobleck tapped a finger on the table. "It prevents the Grimm in the area from sensing the approach of too many humans, and the resultant negativity. While I doubt they could stop a train, one damaging the tracks would be enough to cause disaster."

"It wasn't Grimm that did this," Jaune said.

"No, it wasn't. If it were, I feel the SDC would have been more forthcoming with informing us about it."

"They kept it a secret?"

"Indeed." Oobleck nodded wearily and removed his glasses. He rubbed at one eye with a knuckle, and Jaune wondered if the man had slept recently at all. Keeping up multiple jobs couldn't be easy. "It's always hard to tell with them. On the one hand, our initial response is suspicion, but I question if that is not paranoia talking."

"It _is_ odd for them to not report it," Jaune said. "Or to clean up the tracks after however long it's been."

"I'll have a specialist consult the moss growth on the carriages and use that to estimate the length of time. It's surprising what things you can use to discover the truth," he added with a smile. "The growth of plant life or the wears and tears of time. It is like reading the rings on the trunk of a cut tree. I'll have the answer in time. I'll fill you in when I find it."

"Thanks. I'd be interested to know. Why would the SDC keep it secret, though?"

"Multiple reasons, and not all of them as bad as one might think. They might have wanted to avoid the loss of reputation, or to not let the White Fang have the free publicity of reporting it. Or, given who they are, they might simply have felt the loss an insignificant thing. A few hundred-thousand lien would mean relatively little to their bottom line. No fuss, no scandal, and no angry customers. Just a slightly late delivery as they re-send more by a different route. In business, reputations is everything."

"Why were you so interested about it in the first place, then?" Jaune sighed angrily. "Why send me there?"

Oobleck looked up at him and chuckled. "Not to waste your time, I can assure you that. My interest was mostly in the fact that half of the train is missing. By looking back through records, I should be able to identify when half a train arrived in Vale, and who came on it. More importantly, I want to know what cargo was on it. The SDC ship dust all the time, but few of their transports involve so many armed security droids." He touched the image of a ruined one with a finger. "I believe there to have been more than dust on this, hence the White Fang's desperate attack."

"The question is what, exactly."

"Indeed."

"Well, I'll leave it to you if I can?" Jaune asked, taking a step back but pausing in case Oobleck needed him for more.

"Yes, that will be fine. Good job, Rat. You've done well."

Jaune nodded and turned to leave.

"Oh, there was one thing," Oobleck called, stopping him by the door. "Were there any complications on your mission? No one became suspicious at your leaving, did they?"

Jaune paused. He took a deep breath and turned to face his superior. When he did, his eyes were flat, his face even more so.

"No. Nothing happened."

/-/

"So, it was Oobleck all along."

Jaune cursed and twisted to the side, spying Blake leaned against a wall behind a locker, her arms crossed under her breasts and her golden eyes regarding him carefully. He hadn't noticed her from his angle coming out of Oobleck's office.

"I thought I told you not to follow me," he hissed. "What are you doing?"

"You told me, but I didn't say I would listen." She pushed off the locker and walked a little past him, nodding her head for him to follow. "Did you expect me to wait peacefully in our dorm while you potentially told your employer about me? I'm hardly going to wait to let you arrest me." She eyed him warily. "If you people even _arrest_ at all. I wanted to know who I need to be careful around. I can't say I would have expected _him_ , however." She sighed and shook her head. "I suppose that's the point. I never even suspected it..."

"You're being unusually verbose today, aren't you?" he sniped.

"And you're being unusually snappish."

"I feel like I have good reason," he said, half-snarling as he stormed on. Blake kept pace with him easily, and managed it without looking nearly as frustrated as he felt.

"You do," she admitted. "I'm not going to apologise for what I did. My life was on the line."

"Except it wasn't. We had no interest in you."

"How was I to know that?"

"You could have trusted me."

Blake stared at him. "Would _you_ have trusted you?"

No, he wouldn't have. Not if he were in that situation and knew what Blake knew. Even so, he didn't admit that and shook his head instead. His thoughts were a mess. Made even more complicated by what he'd just done. "Do you trust me now?" he snapped.

"After you just committed treason for me? I don't know. I trust you enough not to draw a gun on you again, but I don't _trust_ you." Blake looked away. "Trust isn't something that comes easily."

While that might have been an invitation for story-time, he didn't take it. He was too annoyed to listen, and was busy trying to settle his own thoughts. Blake was right that he'd committed treason, no matter how much he tried to deny it, but she was wrong about one thing. He hadn't committed treason for her. He'd done it for himself. Himself, and for his mission. The only way out of that cave, barring a miracle, was for one of them to die. He could have killed Blake, or she could have killed him – and whoever did it would have to go on the run. That was bad enough long before he considered the chances of him being the one to come out on top. They ranged somewhere between slim and laughable.

A patriot might have challenged her to shoot.

He wasn't a patriot.

He was a teenager, a child, and if he dared admit it, afraid. Not a coward, or at least he didn't think so – he wouldn't have wanted to be a huntsman if he was – but afraid of taking that dangerous step. Afraid of dying an utterly pointless death, or of losing his team because of it. Of losing his friends. And that had kept him from informing Oobleck, too. He could have told him about Blake, but her fate would be all too obvious.

He didn't think he could meet Pyrrha and Ren's eyes and pretend he didn't know what had happened to their suddenly missing teammate.

He didn't think he'd be able to sleep at night, knowing he'd been responsible for her death.

"Still, a spy for the Kingdom," Blake whispered. "You, of all people. Who could have ever guessed?"

"A lot of people if you keep talking about it like that."

"Relax. There's no one around."

"I'd rather be safe than sorry," he muttered. She might have faunus hearing or something like that, but he didn't – and it was his life on the line. "You're used to being on the run. I'm not. I'm risking way too much for this."

"I know, and I'll stick to my promise. No one will find out through me."

As long as no one found out _her_ secret through him.

No altruism. Just two people with mutually destructive secrets, and the blackmail that now hovered between them. Even if he found a way to turn on her, she'd shout out his secret with her last breath, and that would be him kicked out of Beacon. If he couldn't spy on Ozpin, his use to the VSS would diminish. They'd keep him around, of course. He didn't doubt that. It was just that he _wanted_ to stay in Beacon. This was his dream, not a mission trailing through Atlas or Mistral, or something.

"A lot of things are starting to make more sense," Blake continued, laughing out loud. "All those late nights. The exhaustion, even the excuses. Those were all missions of some kind, weren't they? What were you doing?"

He refused to answer. She might have known the truth about him, but nothing else was a part of their deal. When she realised he wasn't going to speak, she rolled her eyes and decided to try and figure it out herself.

"It has to be something to do with the White Fang, otherwise you wouldn't have been investigating that train wreck. You also recognised the mask." Her eyes widened, and she turned to pin him with a fierce stare. "Were you involved in that warehouse explosion?"

"That was White Fang negligence, wasn't it?" he asked. "The news report said they mishandled dust."

"Don't take me for an idiot, Jaune. No one mishandles dust that badly."

They did. Though, well, perhaps they'd been _aided_ a little in their mishandling. He wanted to deny their involvement, but knew she wouldn't believe him. He shrugged one shoulder instead, hoping that by giving her nothing to work with, she wouldn't be able to figure anything out. Sadly, Blake had more than he did in that regard, knowing as she did about how the White Fang normally operated.

"That must have been a storage warehouse, which means they'll have been shipping dust in and out. You definitely saw some action. I remember you coming back looking like you'd been put through a wringer. You were also angry when I mentioned the White Fang the other day." She eyed him with a sly smirk. "Angrier than you would have been if you hadn't had a run in with them."

"Or maybe I just dislike treacherous terrorists," he said, a little pleased to see the smile wiped from her face.

"Then you'd best avoid any mirrors. You count as one now."

And she wiped the smile from him in turn.

"So, you're here in Beacon. That must be a part of your mission, right?"

"It's just my cover," he lied. "I need to have a normal life when I'm not on missions. Beacon's a good cover."

"If that's the case, you wouldn't choose a boarding school for it. Sneaking out has already been difficult for you. No. You have a mission here." Her eyes widened. "Ruby… it's Ruby, isn't it?"

"No."

"It is!" she hissed, suddenly freezing in place. "The way you keep looking at her, how hard you were trying to become her friend. The two of you also have private lessons with Oobleck." Blake's imagination ran wild. "What is she? Some kind of traitor? Is she suspected of somethi-"

"Enough!" he hissed, clamping a hand over her mouth. His wide eyes scanned left and right, but no one was nearby. It was late afternoon since they'd just gotten back from Forever Fall, and most people were at dinner. "Fine. It's Ruby, but whatever you're thinking – _stop_. She hasn't done anything wrong, and she'd not suspected of being some kind of traitor."

"Then what is it?" she asked, breaking free of his grip. "Why all the interest?"

"I can't tell you."

"Can't, or won't?"

"Both." He shot her a glare. "I don't trust you, Blake. I can't. I'm not telling you every little thing, but I _will_ tell you she hasn't done anything wrong. Our reasons are our own."

"Are you going to hurt her?"

"No!" he denied. "What kind of people do you take us for?"

"I've no idea," Blake freely admitted. "I only have you to judge from, but is it really so strange to imagine you might spirit her away and kill her?"

"Yes! We're working to defend Vale!"

"And if she became a threat?"

"She isn't."

"And if she becomes one?"

He knew what she was doing and refused to play into it, instead turning his head to the side and growling under his breath. "What do you want, Blake? I agreed to keep your secret and you agreed to keep mine, but I've got a feeling you want more, otherwise you wouldn't be here talking with me."

"You're right. I do."

"Well…?"

Blake hesitated, and that didn't bode well. He knew whatever she wanted to ask, he wasn't going to like it, and she clearly knew it too. There was too much at stake, and the only connection they had was the White Fang.

He knew full well he'd hate her request.

"I want you to take me with you on your next mission against the White Fang."

/-/

"It's not like I didn't try," Ruby complained, fighting her way out of her sister's grasp. "I did talk to him."

"Before the trip, sure. And a little during the ride there. You were supposed to spend a little time with him during the sap gathering, though. That was prime `getting to know you` time."

"I tried!"

Yang rolled her eyes at her little sister's typical response to things that embarrassed her, namely the get flustered and raise her voice approach. While cute, it didn't exactly help her in life, and Yang had grown immune to it over the years. "Not very hard, Rubes. I saw a couple of places where you could have started a conversation."

"But what about? What do I talk about?"

"Anything. Just talk about things you like. Comics, even weapons. If he's not got similar interests to you, then it probably won't work out very well anyway. You might as well find out, right? What's the harm?"

"I could look like an idiot and be laughed at."

Another sigh, another whispered prayer for patience. Ruby's social awkwardness had been an issue for oh… ten years, now? Maybe a little less. She'd been just as bad in early school as an infant, however, sticking close to Yang's side where possible. _Come to think of it, I really shouldn't have encouraged that, no matter how cute it was. I basically let her dodge having to open up and learn how to make friends._

"For one, he isn't going to laugh at you, Ruby. Jaune likes you – and I mean as a friend. Not just the fact he probably fancies you as well."

"D-Don't use that word!"

"What, _fancies_?" Yang groaned and palmed her forehead. "Ruby, it's not even a rude or embarrassing word. What do you want me to say, that he _like-likes_ you?"

Ruby's cheeks flushed, though whether that was at the insult or the fact Jaune had feelings for her, Yang didn't know. It was weird to have someone have such an interest in you, something she knew from personal experience, but like she'd told her sister before, this was important practise. If Ruby didn't try to at least learn what dating was like now, she might avoid it all the way through her adult life.

She did _not_ want to imagine a middle-aged Ruby trying to ask someone out for the first time. It would be a disaster.

"I don't even know if he _does_ like me," Ruby whispered.

"You know, you can still talk to him without feelings being involved. Do you think he's going to jump straight to you flirting if you just start a conversation? About weapons, no less? Ruby. He'll just think it's you being you." And it wasn't even a good way to flirt in the first place, but baby steps were definitely the right choice here. Throw Ruby in at the deep end and she'd sink like a rock. "And on the second point, you can't look like an idiot for talking to someone. You'll look far worse if you decide you like him later, but held off before you were afraid. You'll feel it, too."

"I-I know…" Ruby's face wilted.

She looked so afraid, and so uncertain, that Yang couldn't help but draw her into a quick hug. It was far too soon for Ruby to be thinking about unrequited love, but she would be sixteen soon, and Yang knew her hormones must have been kicking in. "Look, no one's saying things are going to be bad," she said. "Just think of it in terms of opening up a little. You can talk to him without it meaning anything. We're talking right now, aren't we? You talk to Weiss and Nora all the time."

"That's different," Ruby mumbled into Yang's chest.

"It doesn't have to be. Just stop thinking about the fact he's a guy, and talk to him like you do us. A boyfriend is just a friend you do other stuff with." Not exactly accurate, but close enough to work. "It's not like the way you talk to them changes massively. If it goes well, you might have deeper conversations, but you'll still talk about the things you both like. Dating isn't an exam."

"I-I think it's too soon to think about dating, Yang."

 _Yeah, I'll say. Especially if you're getting this wound up about talking to the guy in the first place._ By the standards of anyone else, Yang would have called it a lost cause already, but this was Ruby, and she didn't work by the same standards.

"You know I'm on your side, sis. If you have any problems, you can come to me. I'll help."

"What do I say, exactly?" she asked. "C-Can you give me an example?"

"Sure. We can pretend right now if you like? Just imagine I'm Jaune." She stepped back and pulled her hair into a fist behind her, making it look shorter. She also lowered her voice. "I am Jaune Arc. Fear my noodliness!"

Ruby giggled, and that was a good first sign. _That's right, Rubes. Just relax._

"Um, h-hey, Jaune."

"Hey, Ruby," Yang returned. She knew Ruby would be struggling, so decided to go easy on her. "What have you been up to?"

"H-Huh?" Ruby's eyes widened. "O-Oh, I was just talking to Yang."

Ugh, don't talk about another woman, Ruby. Yang wanted to roll her eyes but held back for fear of ending the whole thing early. "Yeah? What about?"

"Oh, uh… you know. Sisterly things."

 _Oh Gods, grant me patience. What the hell is `sisterly things`? That sounds so weird._ Okay, it was time for a different tactic. "That sounds cool. I just came back from Forever Fall. We had to gather sap for Professor Peach."

"I know. I was there."

"Roleplay, Ruby…" Yang groaned, hand to her forehead. Ruby realised her mistake and quickly `eeped`.

"I-I mean, really? How was it?"

"Eh, it was pretty good," she replied, falling back into her `manly` voice. "We had to keep an eye out for Grimm, but none showed up. I was worried at first, but it was boring come the end of it. We at least expected _some_ action, you know?"

"Yeah, that sucks." To Yang's relief, she noticed Ruby's shoulders relax. "There's not enough fighting in Beacon. I mean, fighting in miss Goodwitch's class is fun, but why did we only have that one Grimm in the first week?"

"No idea. Weiss got to fight it, but it probably would make more sense for Professor Port to get more. Would make his lessons more interesting."

"I know!" Ruby gasped, waving her arms. "I keep nearly falling asleep, and Weiss keeps growling at me. She's not even my partner. Why doesn't she growl at Nora when _she_ falls asleep? Why is it always me?"

Things were going well. Really well, in fact. Ruby had all but forgotten her awkwardness, and that was a good sign, but Yang knew it wouldn't be so easy in real life. She tried to look at Ruby in some kind of desiring way, but wasn't able to really pull it off. Ruby was her sister, after all. She instead leaned a little closer, placing an elbow on the wall by Ruby's head. As far as Jaune went, it totally wasn't something she could imagine him doing – but the main thing was to try and make it feel a little more flirtatious.

"Maybe she's jealous," Yang suggested.

"Of what?" Ruby asked. "Me being the team leader?"

"No," Yang whispered, leaning her face a little closer. "Of you being so beautiful."

Ruby's response was a garbled mess. Her mouth fell open, her eyes widened, and her cheeks turned bright red. She tried to say something, but all that came out was a startled whine. Huh. Maybe that had been a little too much.

"What on Remnant am I looking at?" a voice behind Yang dared to ask.

"Huh, Weiss?" Yang looked back, ignoring her near-comatose sister. She came face to face with Weiss, who watched them with a bemused expression. "Oh hey. Nothing much. Just a little bit of roleplay."

"That… answers nothing. Also, _what_ did you just say about me? Something about jealousy?"

"Oh, that? You must have misheard." Yang laughed and waved a hand before her. "I was actually talking about someone else. A rapper called Ice Bee."

"Uh-huh?" Weiss wasn't buying it. Not if her crossed arms and narrowed eyes were any indication.

"Anyway, I was just helping Ruby get used to the idea of being flirted with. It's…" Yang looked back to her little sister, who had still yet to move or close her mouth. "It's going," she said, unsure whether good or bad was the answer. "It's definitely going…"

"Jaune Arc, I presume?"

"Yep. Well, unless there are any other guys interested in her that I should know about." An idea leapt to Yang's mind and she grinned evilly. "Do you know where he is, anyway? Ruby was saying how she wanted to go and talk with him."

The dangerous words pierced Ruby's stupor, finding that self-preservation part of her that warned of impending danger. Her eyes widened, and she shook her head mutely, mouthing Yang's name. Naturally, she went ignored. Yang threw an arm around her shoulders before she could put her semblance to good use.

"She looks horrified," Weiss said.

"I may have exaggerated the word `want`," Yang admitted. "She does need to talk to him, though. She's going to arrange some inter-team training between our teams."

"I-I am?" Ruby asked. She realised a second later it was an easy in given for her to start a conversation with Jaune, and quickly nodded. "I mean, yeah. Sure. That sounds like a good idea." Her cheeks flushed when Weiss stared at her. "I'm… uh… glad I came up with it?"

"Most impressive," Weiss answered sarcastically. "Oh, whatever. It's not like the training wouldn't be a good idea. It would be pleasing to spar with Pyrrha as well. I didn't see him earlier, but I was with Nora when she decided to spend some time with Ren."

"You hunted him down like a stag, so you could offload Nora on him, didn't you?" Yang asked knowingly.

"You can't confirm that, and even if I did choose to use him as a free daycare centre for my partner, it would be my business. Anyway, from what I heard, I think he went off with his partner. The two of them have been together since they came back from Forever Fall."

And during much of Forever Fall, too. Yang winced and glanced at Ruby, who looked even more glum. Well, if _that_ jealousy wasn't proof her sister was interested, she didn't know what was. "Thanks, Weiss," Yang said, stepping aside so her teammate could get into the bathroom. It was only when the shower started that Ruby spoke.

"M-Maybe he likes Blake…"

"Or maybe he doesn't," Yang said, playing devil's advocate. "They _are_ partners, you know. There are plenty of reasons they might be hanging out right now, none of which have to involve romance in any way."

"But didn't Blake go off to find Jaune at Forever Fall, too?"

She had, and Yang hadn't missed the fact Blake was keeping an eye on her partner. She didn't know the girl well enough to guess, but there was certainly some interest there that was more than simply team-related. _This could make things complicated,_ Yang mused. _Ruby isn't ready to be competing for someone, but I don't want her to lose hope and give up if this is nothing. I need to figure out what's going on between them._

"Maybe it's best I don't," Ruby said, half-relieved, half-distressed. "I-I'd only get in their way…"

"Nope."

"But Ya-"

"Nope."

"B-"

"Nope."

"Ugh…" Ruby groaned. "I had a feeling you'd say that."

"Yep." Yang grinned and nudged Ruby's arm. "Don't you worry, sis. You just focus on trying to open up a little more to him, and _I'll_ focus on Blake."

"You're not going to hurt her, are you?"

"Of course not. You just need to know whether Blake likes him, right? It's not like she'll up and tell me if I ask, and I don't know her well enough to convince her." That left only one option, not that it would be overly difficult. "I'm going to spy on them, instead. Easiest route to what you want to know."

Ruby winced. It didn't take a genius to figure out why, and Yang raised a challenging eyebrow.

"You're doubting my ability, aren't you?"

"N-No…?" Ruby wasn't a very good liar.

"Trust me, Rubes. I'll find out what we need to know. I'm like a Secret Agent." She made a vague spy-like gesture before her eyes. "He'll never know what hit him."

/-/

"Absolutely not!"

"You're being unreasonable."

"No, I'm being quite reasonable. You're the one who's insane."

Blake rolled her eyes, which really ought to have been _his_ response considering how stupid her request was. He'd hoped to avoid her by saying he needed time for training, but she'd followed after him without a care in the world. Now, he was stood swinging his sword at a practise dummy, and she was sat cross-legged nearby with a book in hand. She hadn't turned a page since she started.

"I don't see what the big deal is," she said, sighing and resting her cheek on one palm. "I'm not asking you to induct me into your little group. All I'm saying is that you can tell me when you have another mission and I'll help."

A fat lot of good her _help_ had done for him so far. Jaune grunted and swung his sword at the dummy, his muscles straining as it bounced off. He tried to remember Pyrrha's little tips on footwork, and shifted his accordingly.

"You're investigating the White Fang and I used to be a member," she went on. "There are things I know that could be of use."

"Used to be a member," he said. "You're not anymore." Whatever she knew, they'd have surely changed, if only to avoid the danger of a potential runaway being captured and interrogated. The White Fang were a terrorist organisation which had been around for over a decade. That meant they weren't idiots.

"There are still things I know. I'm also a faunus, so I can infiltrate places you can't."

"Why are you so obsessed with this?"

"Because what they're doing is wrong. I was a part of that and I never noticed. I… I want to make things right."

"And you don't think that's a problem?" he asked. "We're not doing this to stop the White Fang, and we're not focusing all our resources on them. We're trying to protect Vale."

"And you think the White Fang are a threat to it."

He paused and shot a look her way. "You don't?"

"I don't know what to think."

"They are, Blake. Trust me. We've seen things. We have proof."

"You might, but I don't. How am I supposed to believe the White Fang would harm so many people? We fought for equality. I need to understand when things changed. And if they have… then I need to do something about it."

And there she went again. He could respect her wanting to do the right thing, and it probably spoke well of her for feeling like she did, but it wasn't a good thing for _him_. Ideally, he'd hoped she would take the knowledge about the VSS and just be relieved he wasn't investigating her. From there, they'd go back to how things normally were, except there would be one less person he had to lie to whenever a mission came up.

The fact he had to try and deceive Oobleck and the VSS was bad, but it was a worthy trade for the whole `still being alive` thing. In his panicked mind, and with barely any time to think about it since Blake had been about to shoot him, he'd sort of assumed it would all be over by now.

"It's not that simple, Blake. The VSS are a big organisation. There's a lot of people. What happens when I go on missions with other Agents?"

"Are there others in Beacon?"

"No," he lied. "Or at least I don't know of any."

"And if you did, you wouldn't tell me anyway."

"My loyalty is to them," Jaune pointed out. "You're my teammate and partner, but that's it."

Blake raised an eyebrow. "I thought I was also your friend? That's what you said in the cave."

"Yeah, before you essentially blackmailed and threatened me." He'd have called her his Mom if he thought it would have gotten him out alive. As it was, while he still felt some connection to her, it wasn't a friendly one. Maybe that was just his annoyance at the situation, but he had a feeling it would be more.

"In my defence, my life was on the line."

"I can imagine," he groused. "I must have looked very dangerous pinned against a wall with a gun against my skull. I could have headbutted you at any moment."

"You could have destroyed my chances at a new life. That's enough for me. And besides, I wasn't wrong, was I? You _did_ have a secret. You _were_ dangerous to me. You work for the Council of Vale, and you're tasked with finding spies and investigating the White Fang. So long as I remained unaware, my life was in danger around you. One mistake would have been all it would take, and Doctor Oobleck could have called me to a detention and killed me at any time."

Oobleck still might if he found out Blake knew the truth. What should have been a liberating thought was instead a terrifying one. If he'd kept his secret better, she wouldn't be in this position. If he'd just snuck away from the others without being seen…

"I'm not asking you to take me with you when other members of your group are there," Blake said. "I know you can't risk that, and neither can I. When you're on your own, though? You'll need the support." She put her book down and stared at him. "I can provide it. I can help."

Jaune sighed, letting his sword arm fall and finally acknowledging that he wouldn't be getting any training done. "How can you help? What can you even offer?"

Blake's eyes lit up, but she knew she wasn't there yet and didn't allow herself to calm down. "Training for one," she said. "You need to get better, and fast. If we're working together, I'd be more than willing to help – and more than Pyrrha does. Multiple hours of any day. Every day if you want it. Better still, I can show you the kind of training those in the White Fang go through. It might help if you ever need to pretend to be one of them."

That was true, he supposed, and she wasn't wrong about him needing to get better. He hadn't told her how new to the VSS he was; there was no need to give her that kind of information. When she'd asked, he'd simply said `long enough`, and left the rest to her imagination. She'd easily realised his real skill was with the knife, though she didn't know how much. Or how little, as was the reality.

"I can also tell you how to act and speak if you're among the White Fang, or better yet, I could sneak in with you if you ever needed it."

"Aren't you known as a traitor?"

"The White Fang wear masks all the time, so identities aren't always known. That's important when some of them need to keep normal lives outside of the cause. Either way, if you dyed my hair, no one would be able to recognise me." Blake smiled, unwilling to give up her edge, or stop with the reasons. "Even beyond training and knowledge, I can provide an extra pair of eyes, or the ability for you to be in two places at once. Research, casing a building, or just someone who can watch your back if you're deep in enemy territory."

Clever Blake, playing to _him_ and what _he_ needed rather than the VSS. She could have offered the answers to the train wreck, or perhaps secrets on past White Fang activity, but he didn't need that, and wouldn't be able to pass it on to Oobleck without questions. Instead, she was telling him how she could help _him_ and only him. Training to make him stronger, aid to make his job easier, and support to help him stay alive in tough situations.

It was tempting. Very tempting.

 _Oobleck and the VSS have contacts, don't they? People who aren't a part of the VSS and don't know all its secrets, but at least know who we are and who they are working for. She could be the same. Blake could be my first real contact._ A contact with White Fang experience, too, which would be pretty handy considering what they were currently up against.

She was winning him over. Damn it.

"Trust me, Jaune. I can help."

"How am I supposed to trust you? You're ex-White Fang. You owe nothing to the VSS, Vale, or me. What says you won't turn on me the second I'm not looking?"

"If you can't trust me right now, then at least trust we have common purposes," Blake said, slowly standing up. "I want to find out what's going on with the White Fang, and you're my best bet of that. This isn't an entirely altruistic partnership. After a while, I'll prove myself to you. I asked in the cave that you convince me to trust you. Now, I'll prove that the same can work in reverse. But for now, you can rely on our mutual goals."

In a way, that made it more understandable. He didn't need to expect Blake to keep his secret out of the kindness of her heart, but because she needed him. So long as he had the backing and resources of the VSS, she wouldn't dare harm his position.

And, of course, there was the other obvious problem.

"If I said no, you'd just do it on your own, wouldn't you?"

"Yes." She didn't even have the grace to sound apologetic. "We'd likely run into one another while you were on a mission, and it might be complicated. I can't let this go now, though. Not when I know the White Fang are doing something so big even the secret service is getting involved to stop them." She cocked her head to the side and smirked. "It would be easier for the two of us to work together."

Easier, yes. But also dangerous. High risk, high reward. Sadly, the risks associated with refusing were greater. He held out a hand.

/-/

Blake left soon after, though he gave the excuse that he wanted to continue his training in what little time he had left. She'd not looked too convinced, and he had a feeling she'd be on the edge of her seat for the entire night, wondering whether he'd go back to Oobleck and rat her in. He wouldn't, but maybe the tension would serve her right.

This was a mistake. He knew it. It wasn't just his pessimism playing up this time. He _knew_ this was a mistake, not only by the standards of the VSS, but also his common sense. She was a loose end. She had proven loyalty issues. It was all well and good to say she'd seen the light and left the White Fang, and that was great – but would she ever do the same to him as well? What if she balked at the kinds of things he had to do, and then tried to blackmail him into stopping? What if she went back to the White Fang – or what if she was captured and they found out what she knew?

There were way too many risks for this to be anything other than the worst idea ever, but that didn't matter. He'd made his decision, crappy as it was, and now he was going to have to live with it. It was that or kill her. Those were the only options. To tell Oobleck was to kill her. To tell Vanguard was to kill Blake.

To the VSS, the risk was far too great. She was White Fang. She was the enemy. Vale first, the VSS second, and teammates outside of that firmly in last place. Blake wouldn't stand a chance.

And despite his words earlier, she was still his partner. He _did_ consider her a friend.

 _I'll have to keep this a secret, and that means keeping it from Vanguard, Magician and Oobleck. There's no telling how many other Agents they might have, or if there are more in Beacon. It has to stay a secret from everyone._ No more mess-ups, and no more friends finding out. One was one too many, so there couldn't be two.

As for them working together? Honestly, he'd have traded all the benefits she'd offered for a chance to go back to the status quo. Sure, she'd be a help, but he'd rather not take the chance. Sadly, that wasn't an option, and he needed to make the best choice he could. Since he was already up the creek without a paddle, he figured he might as well have Blake beside him. She could help row the boat or bail out the water. Time would tell which.

If Oobleck ever found out, it might be even worse. They'd not realise the boat was sinking until they drowned.

"A Rat trusting a Cat," Jaune whispered, staring up into the sky. "I'm sure there's no way _that_ could go wrong."

But like it or not, the two of them were in this together.

* * *

 **So, yeah, it's the fact he told Blake about the VSS that I know a few people will be "Whaaa…!?" about. I've tried to make it clear that** _ **yes**_ **, it's a bad decision. I know it. Jaune knows it. Even Blake knows it. It's definitely the** _ **ill-advised**_ **choice. Given the bad situation he was in, however, there weren't many alternatives, and he wasn't exactly given time to think up a compelling and believable excuse.**

 **Like I said at the start, I considered changing it. I really did. But, again, in the end I decided it would be better to not make that mistake and try to re-write a plot while it's going. This will have a better pay-off later for being like this now, and I'd rather stomach the few complaints now for a better story, than take the easy out now and run against a brick wall later – or worse, the story becoming mediocre because the conflict dried up.**

 **But yeah, no need to tell me how silly Jaune's decision is. I know. It's silly, but not OoC, I feel. Jaune hasn't exactly proven to be a great liar in the show, or here, and he hasn't had that much practise in the story so far. He's tried, but it's not easy – and not when you're caught red-handed and held at gunpoint.**

 **The other reason for wanting it this way is that I've written a lot of stories where Jaune has a secret, and where he keeps that secret until really late in the fic. (Professor Arc, NTF, Forged Destiny...). I wanted to mix it up and instead have one where the secret gets broached earlier, and I can write the consequences of that. Otherwise, I just end up going the same way.**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 12** **th** **November**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**

* * *

 _ **P.s. Two weeks from now (19** **th** **November), it is my Birthday. I'll be 30 (arghhh). As such, as an advanced warning, this fic won't be updated on that day, as I'll obviously be spending the whole day with family. It won't affect any other story. Just this one, and just for the one day.**_


	17. Chapter 17

**So, I don't normally do this, but I'd thought I would answer a few questions that I really feel ought to have been obvious, but apparently weren't. Response on last chapter was about what I expected, because people were** _ **supposed**_ **to not like the decisions that were made, but that they are important. Some didn't understand why they even made sense though, hence these quick answers.**

 **Q: Why didn't Jaune give some kind of secret signal to Oobleck?**

 **A: Why would he even need to? He has the authority and power here, and was alone with Oobleck He could have just** _ **told**_ **him. The whole point was not that he couldn't, but that he didn't want to. Make no mistake, to tell Oobleck is to** _ **kill**_ **Blake. No buts. She dies – and he is the cause. And he then has to lie to his other friends when they look for and mourn Blake. He couldn't bring himself to do that, so I find the idea anyone's suspension of disbelief is stretched here to be a bit weird. Is there anything in the show or this fic so far which shows Jaune to be someone who is happy to kill someone he is close to? He's still thinking about the WF who died in the warehouse, so if you think he can happily be the cause of someone else's death, then I think you're reading him wrong.**

 **Q: Why would Jaune even tell Blake in the first place?**

 **A: Because if he did not, he dies – or at least he is sure of that. Would Blake pull the trigger? I think she could, but what's more important is that HE felt she would. He was trapped in a cave after having given his friends the slip, so he knew there was NO rescue coming. He can't outfight her. He can't outsmart her, and he can't escape thanks to the cave she has him trapped in. What was he supposed to do? I know some wanted him to "try and fight" anyway, but make no mistake; he would have died. He knows it. She knows it. Hell, he was blind in the dark and she had perfect vision, too. It would have been a fool's choice, and in a situation like that, you don't go with the blatantly dumb choice. Sure, telling her the truth was unwise – but it keeps him alive, and it's THAT which he wants.**

 **Jaune is not a patriot in this fic. His DREAM is to join Beacon and have a team. His profession is by necessity – and at that moment, his dream and his profession were clashing. Like the boy in the show that he is, he chose his dream, and now has to suffer the consequences.**

 **Q: Why does Jaune still consider her a friend!?**

 **A: He doesn't. If that wasn't somehow clear from his words to her, then I'm not sure what to add. At the end, he said "kind of still thought of her as a friend", but the fact he had to add the "kind of…" makes it clear they are** _ **not**_ **friends. Those two are not back to square one – they have gone back even further.**

* * *

 **Chapter 17**

* * *

Despite his best efforts, the fracture between Blake and he showed. Their team noticed it first when the two returned from their meeting, quiet and withdrawn, and then refused to speak or acknowledge one another for the rest of the evening. What little conversation there was had to be sparked by Pyrrha and Ren, and only resulted in short and simple answers from the two. When he brought out his Lapscroll to read through the latest VSS news, Blake's eyes narrowed on it, and he knew that she would want to see into that in time, as well.

The short-tempered glare he sent back made it clear the answer was a no. He was already giving her enough room as it was, and asking for more was pushing it. Naturally, the little exchange was caught by their teammates, which wasn't hard given the little space they had and how much tension the two were giving off.

Neither knew how to deal with it, however, and they'd eventually settled on hoping a night's rest would wash it all away.

It didn't.

The morning was just as bad, or perhaps even worse. On his end, it was because the night had been fitful and restless, his mind conjuring up horrifying images of what Oobleck might say or do if he ever found out the truth. Not all of those were aimed towards him, either. Would his family be threatened? Would his teammates be put in danger? Everything was for the betterment of Vale, but Vale was an ideal and people were cheap. There were new ones born all the time, so what did it matter if one or two were sacrificed?

Of course, he had no reason to truly believe the man would go that far. Oobleck had been honourably and kind so far, but that was before Jaune had essentially kind-of-betrayed the VSS. Not actually betrayed, he was quick to remind himself. He was still loyal, still determined and still willing to do all of his missions.

Just not willing to kill Blake.

She deserved something for making his life hell, sure, but death? To be kidnapped, taken into a dark room and shot? Or maybe put in a position where it looked like suicide? For her to struggle and scream as a barrel is placed against her head? No one deserved that, and the nightmares had woken him again and again.

Sleep had not come easy.

He wondered if it were any better for her. She dug into her breakfast with a machine-like efficiency, her eyes focused only on the contents of her plate. That wasn't much difference from any other morning, however. She'd never been what one might call a social butterfly.

"We're going into Vale today," Yang said, filling the silence created by Blake and he. Even sat on opposite ends of Pyrrha and Ren, it felt awkward. "Weiss wants to spy on the competition as they come in for the festival."

"That is not the reason at all!"

"It kind of us," Yang said, and Ruby's echoing giggle confirmed it.

He idly wished she'd chosen a better word, since Blake froze up the moment the `spy` word was used, and her reaction had him flinching as well. If anyone noticed… oh, who was he kidding? Everyone noticed.

"I don't know what we'll be doing," Pyrrha said, clearly watching the two of them and obviously concerned for them. She wanted to say more, but trailed off helplessly.

Yang noticed, and looked between Jaune and Blake.

"Well," she said. "You guys could come with us if you like? Maybe a little fresh air would do you good."

"I wouldn't say no," Ren said, turning to the team. "What about the rest of you?"

"Sounds good to me," Pyrrha smiled.

"I'll go," Jaune added, hoping to get his in early before Blake did. That way she'd have a perfect chance to say no and they wouldn't have to-

"Sure."

Or not…

He doubted he was the only one surprised, though Pyrrha seemed to cheer up a lot faster than he did. He wasn't sure whether she saw it as a chance for them to make up, or just a chance to offload the responsibility of dealing with them onto some other people. Whatever the case, one thing was clear.

They couldn't keep acting like this or they were going to get caught.

/-/

Blake considered herself at least somewhat proficient at remaining hidden. Even before she'd donned the bow and decided to hide her faunus heritage, she'd been hiding her allegiance to the White Fang – and then later her doubts about their direction, and her treacherous thoughts of abandoning the cause. All of those things hadn't been easy, but she'd managed it.

She had no idea why this was so different.

Maybe it was because this was the first _mutual_ secret she had. She knew things about Jaune, but he knew things about her in turn, and both were equally dangerous. If she told anyone he was investigating Ozpin and Ruby for Vale's Secret Service, then his mission would be jeopardised. If he told Oobleck on her, her _life_ would be jeopardised. That felt like a very unfair trade, since he'd at least live to tell the tale if he turned on her. And therein laid her doubt.

 _He's been genuine with me so far, but there's no telling how long that will last. I can't even really say `so far`, since it's been less than twenty-four hours. What if he's leading me into a trap even now? Can I really trust him?_

The obvious answer was no, and she meant that with as little offence to him as possible. He was a man who owed his loyalty to another, and she was practically obstructing his goal. That didn't exactly lead to intense trust, and she wasn't sure why she'd believed him enough to lower her gun in the first place. Every part of her had told her to pull the trigger, or maybe just to knock him out and run – start a new life elsewhere. Rinse and repeat.

But she hadn't. She'd hesitated, listened, and then decided – rather foolishly – to trust her life to his willingness to keep a secret.

 _Maybe I'm just tired of running…_

It was just a shame she had to lose a budding friendship over it. She wasn't sure if she'd do things differently if she could travel back in time. On the one hand, Jaune hadn't actually been investigating her, which meant she could have left him to it and they'd both still have their secrets. On the other, there could have been no way for her to know that – and the paranoia might just have led to her cornering him in a different way. At least here she knew the story, and might even have his assistance in figuring out what the White Fang were doing and why.

Friendship wasn't necessary in that; only teamwork, and the kind of trust that might be built up over time working together. After Adam had changed in front of her eyes, how was she to trust someone like Jaune anyway? Sure, he worked for a more legitimate cause, but both were in jobs where they fought and died for what they believed in. He could change, as well. To save herself the pain, it would be better if they remained nothing but acquaintances. Business partners, even.

Ugh. Beacon was supposed to be less complicated than this.

"Is something wrong, Blake?"

"Pyrrha…?" She glanced to the side, a little surprised to find that anyone had decided to talk to her at all. She'd kept her head down to avoid attention, and the members of Team RYWN seemed content not to stick their noses into the obvious problems in Team ABRN. Pyrrha and Ren, however, had no such solace. "You've chosen me, have you?" Blake asked, smiling to show she wasn't upset at the other girl. "I suppose that means Ren is interrogating our leader as we speak."

"Doing his best," Pyrrha admitted. "I wasn't chosen though, I volunteered. What's wrong? You and Jaune seemed fine with one another yesterday. Did something happen at Forever Fall?" Her eyes widened, and she glanced over to Jaune. "Did he… tell you something?"

Blake's eyes narrowed. Did Pyrrha know? "What do you mean?"

"Well, it's only that Ren was thinking about things that might have happened. The two of you were alone together at Forever Fall, and then talked afterwards. He thought that maybe something had come between you." Pyrrha's coughed nervously. "That maybe he… confessed something to you…"

It was all Blake could do to stare, and she did actually laugh a little – just before she could stop herself. It was ridiculous how right and wrong they could be in one idea. While he had told her something, and it might have been called a confession – it was _definitely_ not what they had in mind.

"It's nothing like that, Pyrrha," she said, chuckling to herself. "We aren't like that, and he definitely doesn't feel anything like that for me."

Or anything at all but anger, she imagined.

"It was just an idea. But if not that, then what? The mood in the team has been… well…"

"Terrible?"

She nodded.

That was her fault, she supposed, and she felt a wave of guilt wash over her. Blake sighed and looked away, one hand coming up to tweak her bow. Whatever was going on between her and Jaune, and it was bad as it was, Pyrrha and Ren really didn't deserve to have their lives at Beacon dragged through the dirt.

"I'm sorry, Pyrrha." She hadn't apologised for much in her life, but this felt deserved. "I can't tell you what it is, but Jaune… I guess you could say we've had a bit of a fight. A difference of opinion," she added, wishing there was a better way to explain it.

"Do you think you can fix it?" Pyrrha asked.

No. No, she didn't.

"Maybe," Blake hedged. "I suppose I can try."

"I'm glad. I'd hate to see a friendship end because of a simple argument."

Not quite as simple of one as she might think, nor one so easily repaired. Blake smiled, however, if only because while she knew it would never be the same between the two of them, she could at least pretend for the sake of the others.

Fortunately, such thoughts were washed away entirely when they came upon a storefront of a dust shop, its windows smashed outward and police tape all across it. A small crowd had gathered, but were being held back by two officers who were paying almost too little attention to their job. With people like them, she thought it little wonder criminals were able to run rampant through Vale.

"I think it's above our pay grade," one said to the other.

Blake's knuckles turned white.

It didn't help when Weiss latched onto one of the things they'd said and started to blame the White Fang for the attack. Before, Blake might have countered her, but now, she wasn't so sure. She glanced to Jaune for an answer, but he didn't meet her eyes.

"It's too early to make assumptions like that," Blake said instead, cutting Weiss off before she could continue. "Wasn't Ruby involved with Torchwick's people recently? It's more likely to be them."

"Yeah, they damaged the windows last time, as well," Ruby said, coming to her defence. "Or, well, I guess _I_ did, but same thing. Sort of. Maybe?"

"The culpability would remain with them, yes," Ren said.

Ruby cheered. "Safe!"

"The White Fang, Torchwick, they're all the same," Weiss said, continuing unabated by fact or reason. "They're all just criminals at the end of the day, so I don't suppose it makes much difference if you lump them together or not."

"That's ridiculous," Blake spat.

"Is it? Are they not all criminals?"

To her surprise, it was Jaune who answered. "They _are_ different, Weiss."

The heiress crossed her arms. "How?"

"Torchwick's group are thugs and thieves motivated by greed. They're criminals, sure, but they're professional and try not to go too far if they can help it. The White Fang, on the other hand…" He paused, and Blake looked away in frustration. "They're ideological fanatics. They'll kill and murder indiscriminately, and they'll get themselves killed doing it if they think it helps the cause. They're not in it for money, and they're not careful of what they do. They kill because they think they're in the right. At least Torchwick and his lot know what they are."

In the silence that reigned, Blake bit down on her anger. Weiss, however, had no such compunctions with her own smugness.

"Hm, perhaps you're right. In that regard, I _do_ apologise. I've clearly insulted Torchwick more than he deserves. They're not the same at all." She smiled viciously, thrilled to have someone on her side. "Torchwick is a criminal, but the White Fang are monsters."

 _Only because you made us that way,_ Blake wanted to yell. Would have, too, if not for Jaune's eyes locked onto hers – a silent warning not to speak or do anything out of hand. It was fear that held her back. If she spoke, then she'd reveal herself, and then have to run away from Beacon. If that happened, she'd lose all credibility, and Jaune could out her at his leisure.

All she could do instead was stand there and take the insults and scorn, even if Weiss never realised just how close she stood to one of those monsters.

Even if Blake wanted desperately to prove her wrong. The White Fang weren't like that, or at least not all of them. There were so many people who joined to try and make a difference in other ways, and some, she imagined, who weren't even aware of the more violent goings-on at all. Back in the day, it had been completely different. Back when her parents were in control.

She'd dismissed their peaceful methods at the time, too. Adam had been persuasive, and the sweet taste of early success had blinded them all to what it made them into. In the first few weeks, their raids had done more good than years of peaceful protest.

The first step on that slippery slope was always the easiest.

"You need to calm down," Jaune whispered, having sidled his way over to stand beside her as Ruby tried to calm Weiss down. "Your emotions are showing."

"Oh, and you deign to talk to me now?" she accused.

"Before you do anything you might regret, yes."

"I'm fine," she gritted out. She knew he was right, and that he was technically looking out for her – even if it was more for himself than out of concern – but to be told that while he stood there and mocked the White Fang out loud? It wasn't easy.

"Just don't do anything silly."

"Like you suddenly pulling out hitherto unknown knife skills in your spar against Russel?"

He narrowed his eyes, conceding the point. "Do better than me, then."

She would. She didn't need him to tell her that. It took a monumental amount of effort, but she swallowed and imagined doing the same to all her bile and anger over Weiss' comments. It didn't get rid of all of them, but she was able to replace her furious scowl with a neutral frown.

"We need to talk," she said.

Jaune nodded. "Soon. We can break off and chat when everyone is distracted."

That didn't take too long, thankfully, and they found a convenient opportunity to get lost from the others after Ruby made a _friend_ with some strange girl and everyone else left her to it. The others might have headed back towards the docks, but Jaune grabbed her by the arm and nodded his head in a different direction.

Blake steeled herself and followed.

/-/

The tea house was a quaint little thing off the high street, and the sort of place his mother might have liked had she been here. The important part was that it was quiet and mostly empty, which let Blake and he sit down in one corner and speak without interruption or fear of an eavesdropper. He sat with his back by the window. "It's so I can make sure no one listens in," he said when Blake shot him a suspicious look.

"Ah." She nodded in understanding, sitting down opposite. They each ordered some tea and biscuits and waited for them to come before the real conversation began.

"You looked pretty bothered out there," he said, aiming for an easy topic.

"Weiss is a Schnee, and that makes her the natural enemy of those people. Even if I'm no longer a part of them, some things don't die easily. Hearing her dismiss our efforts as worthless is like having her call the last nine or ten years of my life the same."

Jaune wondered if that hurt more because it bit too close to home. He refrained from asking, however. It would just upset her, and as much as that might have made him feel better, it wouldn't help either of them in the long run.

"I suppose I didn't help with my `monster` comments."

Even if he didn't take it back, of course.

She shot him a sharp glare. "Not exactly, no. The White Fang is bigger than you realise, and not everyone is like what you see. The news stations report the terrible things we did because that made for the best news, but a lot of our work was focused on rescuing and helping faunus, too. Some people never touch a weapon at all."

"But you did," he countered. She wouldn't be so strong otherwise. "Don't tell me you somehow didn't notice what you were doing. I doubt I could buy that."

"I noticed, but it was always easy to argue it away." She shrugged. "A lot of our attacks were against the Schnee, and they loved their robotic security. You don't feel much in the way of guilt when you're destroying those."

"Even if you're still harming someone at the end of it?"

"Don't sound so innocent, Jaune. To us, the SDC were the enemy, in the same way that the White Fang are yours. Do you think you're so much more noble with what you do?"

"I work for Vale."

"Do you? Have they ever proved that to you?" Blake's smile took on a sharp edge when he didn't instantly reply. "They haven't, have they? They told you they were the VSS, fed you some information about what that meant and then let you loose on Beacon. For all you know, they could be White Fang themselves, or something far worse."

"I trust them," he said.

"And I trusted the White Fang. Don't dismiss my trust if you're not willing to do the same to your own. It makes you a hypocrite."

"And you're not, Blake?"

"No, I am." She sighed and sipped her tea. "I'm the worst of all. But that's why I'm trying to make a difference now. That's why I want to help you with them and at least pay back a little bit of what I owe."

"By blackmailing me."

Blake shrugged, but her eyes didn't leave his. "I'm sorry I have to resort to it, but I won't apologise for doing it. Though I doubt you trust me enough to believe it, I _will_ do all I can to help you against them. I'm not trying to be a pain, Jaune." She sighed and put the cup down. "I know I am, but I'm not trying to be. I'll help you deal with the White Fang, and once they're done, it's up to you. If you want me to back away and keep your secret, I will. If you want me to repay you by helping with something else, then as long as it's not against my morals, I'll do that as well."

"You're suggesting an alliance, then?"

Blake nodded. "Yes. I think it would work a lot better than this frosty silence we have."

"That's true…"

"Pyrrha and Ren are becoming suspicious too," she went on. "They actually thought we had a thing going on."

"Don't we?"

"A romantic thing," Blake said, rolling her eyes. "They thought you'd asked me out and I rejected you, hence you being miserable and me remaining quiet."

Those idiots. His face flushed at the suggestion. First Ruby, now Blake. Were they going to start shipping him with everyone he acted even remotely awkward with? Considering his lack of ability with women, that would make for a long list.

"We do need to calm down around one another," he accepted, nodding towards her. "I guess we can both agree to keep what's between us out of the team's way, right?"

"I think so. Neutral grounds?"

"In the dorm room, yeah."

"Can you agree to that, though?" she asked. "I was under the impression you have to do whatever Oobleck asks."

"I do, but he doesn't actually care about our team. His instructions there were actually to use my team as a place to be me, not a spy. It's supposed to be my safe space to relax and wind down – no work involved." Whether Blake caught the implicit suggestion there or not, her face darkened.

"So, if I'd done nothing, you really wouldn't have found out about me…"

"Probably not." Though he couldn't say for certain. If she'd been involved in that train crash, then there was a chance Oobleck would have had him investigating Blake in time. With him being her partner, it would have been only too convenient.

"That's… kind of annoying, actually." Blake pinched the bridge of her nose.

Jaune laughed. "You think it's bad for you? Think about me."

"Hm." She shot him a weak smile. "I suppose it's worse there. That said, my life is in your hands – quite literally."

"Yeah, well. It's safe." he said.

For now.

"And your secret is safe with me," Blake agreed, almost with the same implication. "I don't even care about the other things you're doing. Despite my curiosity yesterday, you don't need to tell me why you're after Ruby. I only care about the White Fang."

"And to take you on any missions I can, right?"

Blake nodded.

The request wasn't nearly as easy as she made it sound, though he imagined she knew that. "I can't take you on any tasks where the VSS have other members going," he warned.

"I understand. It would reveal me, and you."

"And you're happy with that?" he asked.

"Not happy, but I understand. If it can't be helped, it can't be helped, but that doesn't mean I'll sit back and do nothing."

"If you compromise a mission, they might get away."

"And I won't," she assured. "But there are other things I can do while you're busy. Research, information gathering, or even checking out a different lead. I can do those without getting in your way, and if it helps you out, then it's helping me, too."

Of course, what she didn't say was that she'd need him to reveal some of those leads in order to give her things to work on… or that rather than go through newspapers, she'd want access to material only he could provide.

What would Oobleck do in this situation? Other than kill her, that was.

 _Blake's involved no matter what I do, so the best bet would be to minimise the risk. If I try and keep her out, she'll push and cause problems. At least if I'm giving her things to do, I can control what she gets to see._ That meant he could push her in the direction with the least complications, and maybe even use whatever she found out to his advantage.

It was still dangerous and still breaking the rules, but there was an old saying that came to mind. Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer. Right now, Blake counted as both – and by that standard, he ought to keep her firmly under his thumb, and more important, under his eyes at all times.

But he'd have to see how far she could be trusted, too.

"I have somewhere I need to be tonight."

Blake's ears, hidden behind her bow, perked up. She opened her mouth, but quickly closed it, looking around to make sure no one was listening. When it was safe, she leaned forward to whisper. "A mission?"

He nodded.

"Is it about the White Fang?"

"There's an SDC shipment coming in by ship tomorrow night. It'll dock at the Vale harbour late in the evening, but the goods won't be transported off the docks until the logistics company involved brings their lorries the following day. That will leave a nine-hour period where they're essentially undefended."

Blake nodded, listening and not saying a word. At least in that regard she seemed willing to wait and see what he had to say. It was a good sign.

"Roman Torchwick is going to move in with the White Fang before that happens, sometime between eleven and one in the morning. They'll use two Bullheads to steal containers full of dust, and then transport them back into the city for storage."

"And you'll stop them," Blake said, smiling.

"No." He shook his head. "I'll be there helping them."

He knew her reaction even before she moved, and quickly caught her wrist before she could do anything stupid. She froze, but calmed down when he gave her a firm look. Only when she was sat back down and relaxed did he continue.

"If the VSS stops this attack from happening, then all we do is keep a little dust out of their hands. Considering how many other places there are where they can get it, it does nothing. If we let them take it, however, and if someone were to work with Torchwick in taking it…"

"Then you'll learn where he's taking it to," Blake finished, eyes wide. "You're going to work undercover for Ro-" She paused, realising that the name ought not to be mentioned out loud. "For him. You're going to pretend to be on their side until you can locate the place where they're storing all the dust."

"That's the plan. I'm not saying it'll work as quickly as you seem to think it will, but we want to find the head of the snake and take the whole thing out in one blow. Taking out that warehouse was an accident, and not the plan at all. All an attack on the White Fang does is increase the chances they get nervous and do something in response."

"And until they're out of dust, that could still be catastrophic." Blake nodded. "I understand. It's a good plan, assuming Torchwick is able to show you who is in charge. Are you sure it's not him in the first place?"

"We're not sure of anything. That's the problem."

"Information first. Okay, where do I come into this?"

"You don't," Jaune said, "at least not now. I had to do something to earn Torchwick's trust, and he's not going to let me just bring a friend along for this. He'll figure out what's going on immediately."

Blake grudgingly accepted his point, her eyes narrowed as she let out a sigh. "There has to be something I can do to help, though. If this is an undercover job, then that means you'll be on your own. No VSS in the area and no one to back you up. What happens if something goes wrong?"

He didn't answer, because it really didn't need to be answered. If something went wrong and he was discovered, then he had no idea what happened – because his fate would be completely up to Roman. Whatever that led to, it wouldn't be good.

"The only way it'll go bad is if something happens to interrupt the raid, which nothing should."

"Should," Blake said. "You know full-well life isn't quite that convenient. I won't do anything if that's what you're worried about. Not now that I know the full story. Even so, I want to stop the White Fang, and I'll be ruined if something happens to you. You might not be able to spill my secret if Torchwick kills you, but that'll still mean I lose my best source of information."

"I'm glad to know I mean so much to you," he drawled.

"You know what I mean, Jaune. I'd be upset, as well. My point remains though, if something goes wrong, you need to have an escape plan. Just going in there knowing you're doomed if it goes wrong isn't going to cut it."

She was right, of course. Oobleck hadn't specifically given him one, but that might have been because this was Jaune's mission in the first place. The old spy might simply have assumed he'd come up with one on his own. Had he a Semblance or special ability he could rely on, things would be easier. He didn't, however.

And, of course, he didn't miss Blake's less-than-subtle hint, either.

"You want to be my escape plan?"

"It's one way for me to help," she said. "I'll stay out of the way while it happens, but if something goes wrong, then having me on hand could be the difference between life and death."

"Will you stay out of it if all goes well?"

"You intend to use this information to stop them, right?"

He nodded. "I do."

"And if the VSS tells you otherwise, will you still try to stop them?"

This again? She seemed determined they'd turn on him, or turn out to be evil. Given her past experiences, he could sort of understand why. This was different, though. Or at least he hoped so. Oobleck and the others hadn't struck against innocent businessmen, but criminals, terrorists and Grimm.

 _And Ozpin,_ his mind whispered. He shook such thoughts away. Ozpin hadn't been determined yet, and the VSS hadn't made any aggressive moves against him. Innocent until proven guilty. He'd rely on that, and rely on them. But for Blake…? Well, it made sense that she would need _his_ assurance.

"I promise," he said, nodding. "Even if the VSS declare otherwise, I'll help stop the White Fang in Vale."

"Thank you, Jaune."

"I guess we're in business, then," he said, holding out a hand. She regarded it cautiously, but reached over to shake it after a moment's thought.

"I guess we are. There is one thing I have to ask, though. Why tell me about this undercover mission at all? You could have lied and hidden it. Is this a sign of you trusting me?"

Nothing of the sort, as much as it pained him to admit it. What he felt for Blake was complicated. Anger, frustration, sorrow, bitterness – even regret. Trust, however? That didn't factor into the equation. Instead, it was simple practicality.

"What would you have done if I'd vanished mysteriously tomorrow night?"

"I would have looked-" Blake paused. "Oh… I'd have gone to look for you, and possibly rushed to the docks when I saw something suspicious. I might have ruined the raid, or even broken your cover."

"And that's the only reason I'm telling you." He sighed and looked his partner in the eye. "Let's be honest, Blake. We're working together, but only because we have to. The faster I can get the White Fang out of Vale, the faster you and I can go back to what we were before. The only reason I'm even entertaining the idea of letting you help is because I don't know what you'll do if I don't, and I want to get this over with as soon as humanly possible."

"You hate me that much?"

"No. I'm upset, angry, betrayed…" He let the last one sink in, and she looked away unhappily. "But I don't hate you. I just… I want to punch you really hard, but I don't hate you. Not yet. If you were actually White Fang, I would. Otherwise, I'm just angry. And afraid."

"Afraid?" she asked, eyes coming back to his. "Why?"

"Because as long as this partnership is happening, we're on a time limit. If the VSS finds out, or Oobleck… I don't know what they'll do to us, but I don't want to. The sooner this is done, the better." He looked her in the eye to make sure she understood. "For both of us."

"Would he be able to?"

"Oobleck didn't become what he is by being slow, Blake. He'll figure it out in time. He has all the evidence he needs, after all."

Her eyes widened. "The train…"

Yes, that and whatever other sources the VSS could use. If Blake had a background, they'd find it, and if she didn't then their eyes would focus on her the moment they realised. Either way, she was a ticking time bomb waiting to happen.

Life really would have been easier had he told Oobleck and let the VSS deal with her. But then again, life would have been easier growing up in Ansel and taking a job in a market or store. He wouldn't be where he was now if he'd taken the easy options. _Let's just hope my greed doesn't get me killed. It hasn't so far._

"I suppose you're right…" Blake said, finishing her tea. "We'll do things your way. There is one thing, however. If Roman or any of his people see me tomorrow night, it could be an issue. There are some in the White Fang who might recognise me, and then trace me to you."

Jaune leaned back and smiled, the first he'd shown all day.

"Leave that to me."

/-/

Oobleck blinked back fatigue and sipped from his coffee once more. As he put it down, he brought up a hand to work his jaw, massaging the skin there to try and reinvigorate himself. The day had been long, even for a weekend. While school hours were not in session, homework had built up, not to mention his other, more clandestine, work. It was that which he pored over on his terminal, more specifically the images Rat had provided from the mysterious train wreck.

The report had been functional, but as ever he missed out the small details – things he could not be expected to see given his inexperience. It was that which made it forgivable, and for that reason he needed to spend some time on it himself before he processed them.

For one, he wondered if Jaune had noticed the state of the front cars. The report had mentioned that the front half of the train had detached, as was obvious, but he hadn't thought to look at the coupling mechanism to see why. A small and simple error. He would make a note and point that out to his student the next they met. Luckily, one of the images showed enough for him to determine that the coupling had been opened manually, and not broken off or been sheared in some fight gone wrong.

It was a deliberate act.

The question, then, was why. Sadly, it was a question with many potential answers. It could have been that the White Fang's goal was simply the dust and other materials contained in the latter carriages. They could have cleared what they needed, and then de-coupled the cars, allowing the remainder of the security to travel unhindered while they had what they'd come for. All it would take was a few Bullheads later on to pick up the dust.

But that might not be the only explanation, of course. It was possible the SDC had de-coupled it to save what little they could, or their lives. The White Fang could have done the same, finding themselves overwhelmed and needing to do something to remove most of the droids.

Neither of those explanations quite rang true, however. Bullheads would have taken the carriages, while the SDC would have returned in case of a victory on their parts. Similarly, the White Fang mask in the cave – and some of the markings on the walls that Jaune had missed – suggested someone had bunked in there for a day or two. Considering this was an attack by the White Fang, one would expect them to have Bullheads to pick up their successful ambushers, not leave them to fester.

No, this was something more. There was another angle, another explanation that he wasn't seeing. Perhaps it couldn't yet be seen, or it needed more information. While he lacked an Agent in the SDC, the ASF did not. Perhaps a request for help, along with an explanation, would generate some support and find the contents of said train on his scroll come the morning. It was worth a shot, as this seemed to be something the ASF would want solving as well. As questionable as their motives and decisions, the SDC was beneficial for Atlas.

It was while he was composing the message in his mind that his eyes fell on the last image; the mask that Jaune had found hidden in the cave. Its purpose was clear, the item being discarded. It was a shame he hadn't thought to bring it back for testing, but from the size and shape alone he could tell it was one fit for a woman's face. It could have been for a male, but a slight and thin one, and given the attack on a train, it seemed unlikely. Any attacking males would have had more bulk. So, a female member of the White Fang and a discarded mask.

Before he closed it down, something else caught his attention. The cave must have been dark, for the flash had gone off on Jaune's scroll, highlighting the ivory material and making it shine. On a flat portion of it, the rebounding light had cast a shadow, a silhouette of the person taking the picture.

And another behind it.

* * *

 **Uh-oh and all that. Well, the unfortunate alliance is in place, and as I hope is clear, the two are not on great terms and this isn't an "all is forgotten" moment by either of them. Jaune does not trust Blake, and she does not trust him, but both have a use for one another at the moment.**

 **The decision to have this is rather important for plot purposes, not least of all to let me not hand-hold the plot. Had I pulled a silly Deus Ex Machina and had someone save Jaune from Blake (leaving aside how anyone would even find him), it would have just ended with nothing happening. The story goes on, the plot remains identical to canon, and Jaune ends up as a spy who simply lucks his way through everything.**

 **You might even call it Professor Arc but as a spy – since he just succeeds through luck, ingenuity and a little bravado.**

 **That, however, was never the intent for this story. It is not, and was never meant, to be a comedy. It is marked as Adventure/Crime, so think on that a little, I suppose. Sometimes, bad stuff has to happen in order to make a story interesting. If you still think it's unrealistic for Jaune, a man who believes he is about to die, to blab the truth to avoid dying? Then I suppose that's on you. Maybe it says a lot, be it that you're a very loyal patriot, or just supremely over-confident. Unfortunately, Jaune is neither.**

 **He's a young boy with a dream of becoming a huntsman, saving lives and going on adventures – who has been recruited into a secret service that is tinting such dreams with the harsh realities the characters are facing.**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 26** **th** **November (TWO WEEKS)**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**

* * *

 **Note: As was mentioned next chapter, I'll be taking a break from this fic only next week because the 19** **th** **is my 30** **th** **Birthday, and I will be out almost all day as a result. Thanks for understanding, and it'll just be this fic – no others.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Here we go!**

* * *

 **Chapter 18**

* * *

As if it wasn't hard enough being cramped in an enclosed space with a dangerous criminal and several angry terrorists, the ride across the ocean towards the harbour was a choppy one, and Jaune's stomach made sure he knew all about it. It wasn't just the back and forth motion, however. Motion sickness was a problem for sure, but it didn't help that he was nervous and terrified in equal measure, which only made him feel ten times worse.

To be fair, there was a lot to be nervous about. The White Fang looked like they wanted to run him through just for being a human, and if that wasn't bad enough the only other human in his immediate company was a deadly criminal who certainly _would_ run him through if he found out the truth. He could have been on flat ground and he'd have felt fit to vomit.

"Hold it in, kid," Roman said, offering comfort in the way only a man who didn't know how could. He was leaning as far back as he could without straddling the burly faunus on his other side. "How long until we're there?" he yelled.

"Not two minutes, boss," the pilot replied. "Had to loop out into the ocean to avoid us being seen. We'll be diving low in thirty seconds or so."

"You hear that, White? Only two minutes. Keep it in."

Jaune, or John, nodded his head and bit down on his lip. In a way he supposed he should be thankful to the motion sickness for providing a good excuse. He was supposed to be a hard-bitten and callous criminal, after all. He shouldn't be nervous about stealing dust from an apparently abandoned dock.

Well, it wouldn't be totally abandoned. Blake would be there – though she'd promised him she wouldn't be seen and wouldn't cause a fuss. He hated how little that comforted him, but he had to remind himself she had good reason to stick to what she'd promised here. She wanted the White Fang stopped as much as he, and that meant she'd hold off on her instinctive urge to intervene.

Roman had commandeered two Bullheads for the mission and the goal was to take away two containers, one from each. When he'd asked why they didn't go for more, Roman had been amused but quick to explain. He'd liked the city to a person and them to mosquitoes. Apparently, they wanted to draw blood slowly and evenly and not startle or harm the host. After all, if the city – or the SDC in this case – decided Vale was too dangerous to send dust to, then the supply would dry up.

As such, they'd taken their Bullheads out over Forever Fall and away – as if they were normal people leaving the city – and then looped out into the ocean and back towards Vale. What security the city had didn't extend so far into the sea and while they'd almost certainly be _noticed_ , they wouldn't elicit the same kind of panicked response as if they flew over the residential parts of the city and put regular people in danger. The police would be dispatched, but it would just be that and not the army or worse.

And by the time they arrived, they'd be long gone – or so Roman assured him.

"Look alive," Roman called, this time to the faunus and everyone in the Bullhead. "We're coming in hot and we'll be moving fast. There shouldn't be anyone there at this time of night but don't take any chances."

The faunus grumbled and whispered among themselves and none actually replied with an affirmative, a fact which Roman didn't miss and hardly seemed pleased at. He rolled his eyes and nodded to Jaune.

"You're with me, John. Let's stick together for this."

He caught the message, and the hidden warning. The White Fang weren't entirely trustworthy.

The Bullhead started to slow suddenly, and then quickly descended, pushing them back down into their seats. It sped up, swooped down, and then pulled out of its dive to quickly arrest the momentum and bring it to a slow stop. Jaune's stomach roiled the entire time but he closed his eyes, gritted his teeth and rode it out. They snapped back open when Roman slammed open the metal door.

"Time to go, people. Get a move on!"

He leapt out while the White Fang were still hesitating. Jaune didn't bother, recalling that initiation had been far worse as he unstrapped himself and leapt out, landing next to the thief with a grunt. The faunus waited for the Bullhead to get a little lower before they leapt, and the second Bullhead was also disgorging its terrorists a little to the side.

"Fanatics," Roman growled, content to badmouth them now that they couldn't overhear. "I swear, give me three good men any day over these morons. Watch yourself around them, kid. They wouldn't blink an eye at stabbing you in the back if they thought they could get away with it."

"Why are we working with them, then?"

"No choice." Roman drew forth a cigar and lit it, but wouldn't expand on his comment any more. "Alright, I want you to check and mark two containers for us. Make sure to check the contents before you do."

"Isn't this an SDC shipment?" Jaune asked. "Wouldn't they all have dust in?"

"Doubtful. Space is money on a freighter, but the SDC don't like to share. They make rules that only their products can be shipped, but I'll bet my left arm the captain will have taken some other cargo as well and just marked the containers as theirs. There'll be a load of normal shit in here too, and we don't want to find out we nicked a container full of children's toys later." He tapped his cane on the concrete and nodded to the side. "Crack them open and take a look inside, then shout the animals over when you find one filled with the good stuff."

"On it," Jaune said, jogging away.

The dock itself was filled with hundreds of containers stacked atop one another, and those would be more complicated to get off the ground since they'd need to attach the Bullhead cables by hand. It would be better to take the lower-down ones, and several White Fang were fanning out to check them like he was.

He chose an area a little further away from them, and cautiously touched his collar once he was sure no one was close enough. "Blake, are you in position?"

" _Yes."_ Her voice came through immediately, crystal clear and spoken as though she was right behind him. _"I'm on a storage silo a small distance away. I can't be seen."_

"Good. You'll stay out of this, right?"

" _I already promised I would. You can trust me."_

He rolled his eyes at that, but didn't comment. So long as she stayed far back there wouldn't be any problems, and since Roman's plan was to get in and out without any trouble, he was fairly sure the thief wouldn't bother with Blake even if he did see her. As long as she didn't challenge him, he'd keep his eyes on the prize.

 _I'd best do the same,_ Jaune thought, stopping by one container and wrenching the bars on the side to unlock it. It was hard work because of how stiff they were, and it might have been easier to break into the captain's office, find the logbook and just see which numbered containers had what inside. Then again, if that had been an option then Roman would have probably already done it. Maybe the ship had only just arrived and there hadn't been the time, or maybe the logbook was electronic-only, and they couldn't access it.

Whatever the case, when the container's door opened with a loud creak of metal and poorly-oiled hinges, Jaune saw that Roman's hunch had been correct. Inside were several wooden boxes, but the logos on the side weren't SDC. It was a clothes brand, he thought, some Atlas label he'd vaguely heard of but not really cared about. With a sigh he pulled back, but left the door open so that none of the White Fang would mistakenly try it again.

The next one was much of the same, except that when he opened it, the contents spilled out onto the floor and had him leaping back. He bumped into something, and Roman laughed as he caught him.

"Well, well, well, looks like the captain has more to hide than a little trickery, huh?" He bent down and picked up one of the boxes, revealing it to be premium tobacco. "Not only dodging SDC, but customs and excise as well, huh?" He opened his jacket and shoved the box into a pocket. "Not to worry. I can be bribed into silence. You want a box, John?"

"I don't smoke."

"Then find someone who does and make it a gift." He tossed a second box to Jaune, who shrugged and put it in his own black suit jacket. He'd been given an outfit to match what Junior's goons wore, which felt a little odd given that he was one of Roman's men. Maybe it was camouflage. If they were seen, the suspicion would fall on Junior first.

The next container finally brought results. It creaked open ominously, but the wooden crates inside were clearly marked with the snowflake of the SDC.

"Open one up anyway," Roman said. "Better safe than sorry."

Jaune nodded and did so, using the crowbar he'd been provided for that very purpose. The wood gave way, nails and splinters popping left and right, but it soon revealed rows upon rows of glass containers, snugly fit into little compartments. He took one out and showed it to Roman.

"Hmm, looks good. The SDC always have the best quality…"

"Is this one good to go?" Jaune asked.

"I'd say so. Mark it and call the Bullhead over. Maybe that'll prompt the animals to be slightly less useless. There's only two of us and we've already found our prize."

That was a good point, especially considering there were about twenty White Fang to do the same job I was doing. Roman might have said `two`, but he wasn't actually doing anything. "Are the White Fang really this pathetic?" he asked. "I thought they were a successful terrorist group."

Roman laughed. "Make no mistake, they're feared for a reason. Problem is, each Kingdom has its own branch, and that means their own leadership. From what I hear, the Mistral cell is the best; a real terror. Atlas is disciplined but low in numbers due to the anti-faunus sentiment over there. Vale is pretty weak by comparison. An undisciplined and rowdy bunch of idiots."

"What about the Vacuo cell?"

"What about them?" Roman shrugged. "No one cares about Vacuo." He slammed his fist on the side of the container. "You call the Bullhead and get this sorted out. I'll go make sure the animals aren't busy marking their territory or something."

Jaune watched him go and shrugged, then pulled out his scroll – a blank one specifically provided for his John White persona – and called the pilot. All in all, everything was going to plan. Maybe Blake had been worried for nothing after all.

/-/

Laid atop a silo several hundred metres away, Blake held the strange sunglasses Jaune had provided before her and looked through them. How they could act as binoculars she had no idea, but there was no denying she was suddenly able to see everything with near-perfect clarity. _This kind of technology is ridiculous. I've never even heard of anything like this, and the White Fang made a habit of raiding Atlas' weapon stores._

It helped to legitimise the VSS in her eyes, even if that didn't mean much for her trust in them. Jaune seemed to believe in them implicitly, but from what little she knew of how and when he'd joined them, she didn't understand why. They were an organisation that told him what to do and provided him with resources, but how did he know they were what they claimed to be?

He could be falling into a trap and he'd never know it.

 _Not that there's anything I can do to convince him of that,_ she thought. _He doesn't trust me anymore after what happened. He'd side with them every time._

It was a shame, she'd admit, but that was life. There wasn't much she could do about it now, and at least they were still working together on the White Fang. With his resources and information, she'd be able to find out the truth once and for all.

"Zoom," she whispered, and marvelled once more as the lenses flickered and focused, now sixteen times the magnification. It was enough to see the look on Jaune's face as he spoke into his scroll. He was doing a good enough job of fitting in with Torchwick and the White Fang, but she could see the cracks in his disguise. Just a little too nervous, a little too eager to please. Torchwick would probably write it off as nerves or first-mission jitters, but he'd have to get himself under control in the future or someone was bound to get suspicious.

That was all just nit-picking, however. It was an attempt to distract herself from her anger, but also her frustration and sorrow.

He was right.

He was absolutely right…

It was hard to admit and even harder to accept, but what she saw in front of her – and what Jaune was letting her listen into over his transmitter – it was obvious that the White Fang were working alongside Torchwick, and even taking his orders at times. They weren't happy about it, and neither was Torchwick from his constant insults, but that only made it worse. If they'd been chummy then she could at least come up with some reason for it, but the fact they were clearly antagonistic showed they didn't _want_ to work together. But that they _had_ to… or saw benefit in co-operating – neither of which were good things.

 _Would Adam have condoned this?_ She wondered. Back in the day she would have said no, but hadn't he met with some humans several weeks before her departure? The memory was blurred, and she hadn't remembered much, but there had definitely been an edge to him that night. He hadn't been happy. Was that when he'd started to work with Torchwick? Or maybe this cell was doing things differently and acting without instruction. Maybe they were removed from the chain of command entirely. If she could capture and interrogate Torchwick then she could surely find out more…

The thought was a tempting one.

It was only her partner – and the promise she'd made – that stopped her. He already barely trusted her, and this chance was only given reluctantly as it was. If she spat on that now, he'd never rely on her again.

Better then, to stomach it and watch for now. If she wanted him to believe in her, then she had to do the same in turn. Maybe Jaune would find out more through this undercover operation – even if it meant being patient a little longer than she liked.

Something caught her eye while she was musing that – or more specifically, something caught her ear. It was a metallic sound, almost like a metal fence clinking. Nervous, she pressed herself flat. Had someone discovered her?

No. The noise came to the side, and as she crept to the edge and looked down, she realised a figure had entered the docks by clambering over the protective fence. It was someone she didn't recognise, though a part of her felt that she should have. They had orange hair, but apart from Nora she didn't know anyone with hair that shade. It wasn't Nora either. It was a slightly shorter girl.

And she was headed straight for the dust robbery taking place.

Damn it. That wasn't good. Blake hissed through her teeth as she considered her options. She could go down and try to stop them but there was no telling what would happen if she did. If Torchwick saw her, he might believe something was up or even trace her back to Jaune. There was also no certainty the person could be convinced to leave. And, of course, she'd promised Jaune she wouldn't interfere.

With a frustrated growl, Blake thumbed the transmitter held before her face once more.

"Jaune, we have a problem…"

/-/

"We have a problem," Jaune said to Roman, passing the message on, but claiming it as his own. He'd seen the person approaching once Blake pointed it out. He'd thought to pretend he hadn't, but she was walking directly towards them and Roman would wonder why John hadn't alerted him by that point.

"I see her," Roman said, sighing dramatically. "Hardly a dock worker in an outfit like that. I guess it's inevitable someone would try and interfere. I've had the worst luck lately."

"What do we do?" Jaune asked. Behind them, the first container was already being lifted into the air, and to the side, the White Fang had finally noticed the approaching girl and started to draw weapons.

The last thing he wanted was a fight here – especially if it meant hurting someone who didn't deserve it. _Just go back,_ he whispered in his head. _Can't you see this is dangerous? What do you think you're doing?_

"You lot get your container up in the air," Roman shouted, throwing an arm back to stop the White Fang going after the girl. "Leave this to us." He lowered his voice so that only Jaune could hear. "Last thing we need is those animals to have _another_ distraction. I'd like to get this done sometime this century. Come on, kid. You're with me."

Jaune nervously followed the thief towards the girl. Roman started to twirl his cane dramatically with each step, whistling like he was a man out on an everyday stroll. The image was ruined somewhat by Jaune's stiff gait beside him and the red-lensed glasses he wore in the middle of the night. The girl had to know they were crooks of some kind, but she didn't once slow her approach. Eventually, she paused, though only because they were no less than six metres from one another.

"Nice night for a stroll, eh?" Roman asked. "I feel like you should know this is private property, though. You shouldn't be here, carrot-top."

"My name is not carrot-top," she said. "It's Penny."

He hadn't recognised her at first, but the name jogged his memory. _Isn't this the girl Ruby ran into and befriended, right before Blake and I ran off to talk?_ Jaune glanced around nervously but there was no sign of Ruby and he figured Blake would have alerted him if there was. She'd still be back at Beacon. She had no reason to be wandering around Vale late at night.

Nor did this girl, really. He was relieved for his black hair and sunglasses which hid his most recognisable features. It had been enough to fool Ruby, who knew him rather well, so he was sure this girl wouldn't have a clue.

"Nice to meet you, Penny." Roman swept off his hat and bowed. "But didn't your parents ever warn you about talking to strangers?"

"No."

"Huh… you're a bit of an odd one."

"I am a huntress."

"Yeah, guess that explains it." Roman puffed on his cigar, one hand slipping a little lower down his cane. "Well, what brings a huntress like you out to a place like this? I don't think you live around here and it must be past your bedtime by now."

"I saw the Bullheads approach the docks and wished to investigate," she said, not at all embarrassed to have been caught. "Bullheads should not be travelling here at night."

"Yeah well, we'll see to that. This is private property, so we'll have to ask you to leave."

"If this is private property then you are already trespassing. You are Roman Torchwick; wanted on various accounts of theft, fraud and criminal activity. Your name exists on every international database in Remnant."

Roman tutted in annoyance. The girl turned to Jaune.

"You are John White, accomplice and petty thief. You appeared several days ago and are wanted in Vale and Atlas."

Jaune flinched and took a step back. He was surprised she knew his name, but that wasn't the thing which really confused him. It made sense he was wanted in Vale, but what interest would Atlas have in him? That just didn't make sense.

"Well, well, looks like you're making a name for yourself, kiddo." Roman faked a tear. "They grow up so fast."

Penny didn't seem amused or impressed. One foot moved back as she fell into a stance that made it clear combat was the only solution. "I am afraid I am going to have to arrest you now. If you surrender, it will make things easier."

"And this is why diplomacy never works," Roman sighed. "Sorry carrot-top, but we're not in this to make life easier for you."

"You misunderstand. I meant that it would be easier for the two of you. I may harm you otherwise."

"Arrogant little thing, huh?" Roman looked to Jaune and nodded for him to flank from the side while he kept her busy. Jaune nodded and did so, all the while touching the hilt of his dagger.

 _What am I supposed to do? I can't kill her._ He swallowed and drew his weapon, but hesitated to approach. _Maybe I can knock her out from behind. It's the only chance I have of safely taking her out…_

Roman struck hard from the front, starting the fight before Penny had a chance to draw a weapon. He swept down and under, feinting high and then sweeping up from below and aiming for her chin. If the blow connected it would surely send her sailing, but Penny stepped back easily and reached behind her – possibly for some kind of weapon.

Jaune saw his chance and attacked. _If I can keep her from pulling a weapon, she'll be forced to retreat._ So thinking, he reversed the hold on his knife, aiming to strike her with the pommel across the back of her skull. Her head twitched to the side, hearing his approach, but with Roman attacking from the front, she couldn't disengage to face him.

 _I'm sorry about this,_ he thought, swinging with all his strength.

A sword blocked it.

"What…?"

"Duck!" Roman yelled, and Jaune did so, falling flat as the blade – which had no hand wielding it – suddenly twisted sideways and swept for his neck. It whistled above as his shoulder hit the gravel, and Roman pushed the girl back before she could follow it up. While she recovered, the thief hauled him up by one arm. "I tell you, kid. These huntresses get more messed up every time I see them."

"Where did that sword come from?"

"Thin air, her pocket, her ass, I don't know. Everything can be mecha-shift these days, so it wouldn't surprise me if that was her bra." Roman glanced down at Jaune's weapon and sighed. "We'll have to get you something a little more substantial later. That thing's not going to cut it against the kind of artillery these idiots bring along. Speaking of artillery…"

Jaune yelped as he was thrown aside, Roman suddenly pushing him to the right even as he dodged left. The reason became apparent a second later as a green beam of pure energy scythed between them, carving easily into the concrete beneath them and leaving a smoking line behind.

Penny lowered her hand, which now had three of the swords floating about it. Despite missing them, she still wore a friendly smile – almost the same one she'd worn when talking to Ruby. What the hell was wrong with this girl?

Luckily, she didn't get to fire a second shot since Roman closed the distance, engaging her in a twisting and twirling melee. His speed and skill were incredible and reminded him of Oobleck, yet much more fluid. While Penny blocked his cane, he lashed out with a fist, catching her about the temple. She staggered but didn't fall, and Roman waved his fist as though it were he who had suffered for it. One of her swords came about and fluttered behind her, out of his sight – and quickly aligned for a thrust that would catch him through the stomach.

For Jaune, it felt like the world froze. This girl might actually be able to _beat_ Roman.

Was that a bad thing?

If Roman was captured, then that meant he wouldn't be able to work with the White Fang. It would mean no more dust, which would delay whatever plans they had. It might even lead to the VSS finding the Paladin if Roman couldn't keep moving it around.

It would solve a lot of problems…

But what if it created more? Without Roman to successfully and _safely_ steal dust, the White Fang might start to take more risks. They'd be caught eventually, but how many people would die because they went overboard where Roman would be careful? How many people would die because _he'd_ disobeyed orders and let Roman be defeated? They'd not find the White Fang warehouses. They wouldn't discover Roman's safehouses. If someone else took over, it could be the same again, except that they'd no longer have an undercover agent.

With an angry growl he threw himself in front of Roman, catching the thrust on the edge of his knife and diverting it to the side. It caught his arm still, scraping across skin and aura and driving him back from the force alone.

Roman was shocked. "G-Good save," he hissed, backing away. "She's not normal, John. We need to fall back."

"T-Trying," Jaune gritted, struggling to push the sword back. For not having an arm and muscle behind it, the blade was ridiculously difficult to hold back. How was she even putting so much power into it?

"I'll get the Bullheads going," Roman said. "Hold her off!"

Jaune threw his head back. "WHAT!?"

"Buy me some time, kid!"

Roman ran for it, and Jaune could only stare after him.

The son of a bitch had left him… right after he'd saved him, too. He was annoyed to realise that didn't surprise him nearly as much as he thought it should. Roman was a crook, after all. Why would he have any loyalty to a grunt like him? There'd been plenty of people eager to sign up at Junior's club.

"That bastard…"

"You seem surprised," Penny said, flicking her sword through the air and launching him back. He landed hard, stumbling for a second, and then falling back as two more were launched towards his head. "Your employer has abandoned you, John White. I will still offer you a chance to surrender, however."

"That's kind of you," he said, parrying another blow and then `blocking` her follow-up with his face. It left a stinging mark but didn't pierce his skin. That might have been intentional since she seemed eager to capture and not kill him. "I'm not giving up, though. Sorry about that."

He had too many things to do, and there was no telling whether Oobleck would be able to get him out of prison or not. Even if he did, his cover at Beacon would be over. Would Pyrrha and Ren ever forgive him if they found out he moonlighted as a criminal?

"You are not able to defeat me," Penny said. "I should think that is clear from how the fight is progressing." To drive the point home, she split two of her swords in separate directions, cutting him off and leaving him to pick which side he wanted to defend.

He tried for both at once, using an open palm to catch a blade and his knife the other – but the ambitious manoeuvre instead ended up with him blocking neither, and earning a strike to his left ribs and right thigh for the effort. He fell onto one knee, panting for breath.

Was that her Semblance? If so, then it was ridiculous.

" _Jaune,"_ Blake whispered into his ear. _"Hold on. I'm nearly there!"_

"No," he hissed back. Torchwick and the White Fang were still close enough to see. "Not until Roman is gone. If you can save me at that point, I'd be really grateful…"

" _You want me to leave you!?"_

"I want you to wait. Just until it's clear."

"Who are you talking to?" Penny asked. She dashed forward and threw an open-palm towards his chest. He crossed his arms to block it and almost felt his wrists shatter from the force. He slammed back into a container and slumped at its base.

So… strong…

"Roman Torchwick will not come back for you," she said, stepping forward. She nodded her head, and Jaune was forced to look in the direction of the two Bullheads, which had acquired their loot and were now turning out towards the ocean. "He has abandoned you."

"Yeah, I know…" he croaked.

"You can still surrender. I will take you to General Ironwood who will have questions for you. Your answers might even lead to Roman Torchwick's capture; a form of revenge for you, if nothing else. It may lead to a reduced sentence." She cocked her head to the side. "Your crimes are relatively light. I would expect the possibility of a year or less if you co-operate, and potentially in a low-security prison."

That sounded generous, but one part of it caught his attention. "Ironwood?" he whispered. "Not the Vale Police Department…?"

Penny froze.

"That is what I meant," she said unconvincingly.

"You said General Ironwood."

"It was, as they say, a slip of the tongue."

Jaune's eyes narrowed. "You're with Atlas."

"I do not know what you mean." One of her blades came down, piercing the metal container beside him as he rolled to the left. "I will have to ask you to surrender now. Resist and I shall relieve you of the choice."

"Not exactly giving one anyway," he growled. She had the advantage at range with her swords, but she'd have the same disadvantage every other swordsman did. With a cry, he lunged forward, tensing his muscles to accept the blows he'd be unable to dodge. All he had to do was close the distance and render them useless. From there, he could put his knife to proper work and try to knock her out.

She didn't make it that easy, of course. Her swords came in but he expected it, and she expected _him_ to try and dodge. Her eyes widened when he didn't, and white light sparked as his aura was practically cut in two. It held, however, and he roared angrily as he swept the pommel of his knife directly into her left temple. It struck hard, smashing her head to the side and earning a startled gasp.

He didn't expect the hand that snapped around his throat, however.

 _No way,_ he thought, kicking his legs as he was lifted off the floor. He'd struck her straight in the side of the skull. Aura or not, she should have been out for the night!

"That… That hurt," Penny said, her words slurring a little. Her left eye flickered, but she shook her head and righted herself. "I… did not… expect you to… take my attacks."

He tried to say he didn't expect her to prove immune to them, but his words came out as choked gasps and a little bit of spit. She didn't seem bothered by it, however. His hands struggled to pry her fingers apart, but she had a grip of steel. He even slammed his knife down into her wrist, but it skittered aside and flicked out of his weakened grip.

What kind of person was this…? He'd never felt so helpless before.

"I apologise for being so rough," she said. "But I have to arrest you now."

He kicked her chest, but rather than be pushed back, she ignored the impact altogether. _Damn it,_ he thought, feeling his vision dim.

Something flickered in the air behind Penny. His eyes were so hazy he barely made it out, but it wasn't Blake and she didn't see it. It was like a hazy wave of heat on a cool day, rippling and twisting – before suddenly there was a figure there.

Penny noticed at the last second and swept her blades back, but it was for nothing.

She gasped as a silvery blade pierced through the front of her throat, tickling the flesh between Jaune's horrified eyes. The girl's green eyes glanced down at it, before they dimmed and the hand about his throat lost all its strength.

He fell down and slumped back, fighting for breath. Penny, Ruby's new friend, fell down face-first in front of him. She didn't move.

She was dead.

His pulse hammered in his ears. He tried to look away but couldn't, and as the seconds dragged on he started to shake. "No… I… I didn't mean…"

Something gripped his arm and hauled him up. It was a girl he didn't recognise with hair three different shades of colour. She looked him in the eyes and then rolled hers at his shell-shocked expression.

She'd just killed the girl… just like that…

An innocent…

The girl didn't care, tutting silently as she dashed back to the pier, dragging him along. He stumbled and fell but she didn't stop, and his shoulder slammed against the concrete as she dragged him away. He vaguely felt them come to a stop, heard the engine of a Bullhead approach, and then felt a stronger pair of arms grip his shoulder and haul him into the aircraft.

"Bet you thought I'd left you behind," Roman laughed, pushing him into a seat. "Sorry, kiddo, but you're in the for the long ride here. I look after my own, and they look after me." He slammed an open palm on the back of the pilot's chair. "Get us out of here. We're done for the night."

As the Bullhead pulled up and away, Jaune's fear and horror caught up with him. He retched and let out a long stream of vomit, clutching at his stomach as he tried to expunge the image of Penny being murdered from his mind. Roman yelped and backed away.

And yet again, his motion sickness was the perfect excuse.

/-/

Blake's heart beat heavily in her chest as she lay flat against a container she'd crept towards.

Just like that – in front of her eyes – the girl had died. It could have been her, and would have been if Torchwick's accomplice had waited a second longer, since Blake had been about to jump down to help Jaune out against the girl who was far stronger than her appearance suggested. She wasn't even sure if together they'd have been able to win, but she'd planned to get Jaune out and make a run for it.

But then the other girl and… and…

She looked away. She'd seen dead bodies before. It was hard not to in the White Fang, even back when they'd been mostly peaceful. The authorities weren't always in return and sometimes the protests ended in activists being left behind face-down on the street. The media would always play it as them throwing bottles or stones or a terrible accident, but she knew better. She sometimes saw the police continue striking protestors who were clearly unconscious – sometimes worse.

It had been a long time, however, and the fact she'd seen it before hardly made it any easier. She hesitated atop her container, wondering what she should do and how. The girl deserved more than to be left behind, but short of digging a grave herself, what could she do? What should she do? Asking Jaune was out of the question. He was well out of range of the little communications radio they'd been using.

With a sigh, she prepared to jump down and check on the girl.

Someone beat her to it.

Or rather, a car beat her to it. It pulled into the docks and came to a stop beside the body. Blake pressed herself low and peeked over the edge, using Jaune's sunglasses to zoom in on the figure who exited. Any normal student would not have recognised them, but she had a vested interest in knowing figures of authority… especially those who hated the White Fang with a passion.

 _But why would General Ironwood be here in Vale, let alone here straight after Torchwick escaped?_

It was too great a distance to hear what he said, but he barked some command back to the car and two soldiers in full uniform emerged, rushing over to pick the body up and drag it back to the vehicle. A third approached the spot where she'd lain and started to spray something onto it, apparently cleaning the scene of any evidence.

Blake felt she had good reason to feel a little paranoid about that. She liked to think the proper response to coming across a dead huntress was to call the police, hospital or local academy – not to hide the evidence and steal the body. As the car drove away, she slowly stood up and removed the glasses, stashing them away.

"I wonder if he'll even believe me when I tell him about this…"

For now she had to get back to Beacon before anyone missed her… and likely make excuses for Jaune too, since it looked like he wouldn't be back for a while.

/-/

"Cheers!" Roman laughed, cracking open a bottle of beer and pushing it into Jaune's hands, even as he leaned back and chugged his own merrily. He was sat on a plush couch, Jaune opposite him, and the multi-coloured murderer to his left, far too close for comfort. For her crime, she looked remarkably unaffected and let out a silent sigh as she polished off the bottle and smiled lazily.

She then turned to him and winked – an action which had him rapidly paling.

"I see you've met Neo," Roman said, either not noticing his fear or thinking it a respectable reaction. "She's something of an assistant of mine, though outside the normal way things run. Just think of her as being another part of me or something. Follow her orders." He laughed. "Well, if you can figure out what they are."

Neo laughed without making a sound and faked the action of throwing something at Roman's head. He burst out in laughter at it, and the two soon forgot all about him, content to revel in their victory.

Jaune would have liked to join them, but he was still lost over the death of someone in front of his eyes. That wasn't supposed to happen. They'd been doing this to _help_ people, or at least the innocent people. He doubted there was much of a question as to that here since she'd tried to arrest him and Roman. She was the goodie; they the bad.

Except that now she was the dead and he, the living.

 _Is this worth it?_ he asked himself. _Is this the kind of sacrifice Oobleck will brush under the rug in the name of protecting Vale? Even if this saves lives later down the line, does that make it okay?_

What if it had been someone he cared for who had to die?

What if it had been Pyrrha, Ren or Ruby…?

"Drink," Roman said, catching his internal strife and pushing the bottle up to Jaune's lips. He swallowed instinctively. It was nowhere near as good as Oobleck's bourbon, but the promise of forgetfulness was enough to have him tipping it back. "That's better," Roman said. "You need to work off those jitters, John. You did good; even saved my bacon at one point. I know what it's like to have the adrenaline still rushing through you. Just relax and let it pass."

Jaune looked down at his hands. "Y-Yeah… I guess I'm still on edge…"

"It's forgiven. No, it's more than forgiven." He laughed again. "You did good work. Here, a little extra for your troubles."

With a dull slap, a pouch landed on the table. It was filled with lien, and Jaune took it warily, like he expected it to explode.

"A little for your troubles. You've got promise, kid. Stick with me and I'll see it realised."

The lien suddenly felt a lot heavier.

"Money makes the world go around and-" Roman trailed off, his eyes fixed over Jaune's shoulder. "Oh, great…"

"Please," a voice behind the couch said, "continue. I'd be only too happy to hear why you're busy getting drunk instead of working."

It was a deep and rich voice, feminine and yet sharp at the same time. The smile Roman wore dimmed a little, losing its honesty, but he leaned back over the back of his couch and slapped his hand against the huge container stood there. "We're celebrating a job well done," he said. "Two cargo containers filled with prime SDC dust. Quite the haul if I do say so myself."

"Oh?" The woman behind Jaune stepped to the side, her heels clicking against the floor. He tried to look without making it obvious, and saw a pair of long, smooth legs move towards the container. It opened with a low groan and as the woman looked inside, he let his eyes drift higher.

His first thought was that he didn't recognise her. She had black hair the colour and length of Blake's, but the tone of her skin and the way she moved were different. Her outfit was different too, a split dress a blood red in colour, but with tight black shorts beneath. His knowledge of fashion was limited, but she definitely looked beautiful – and if Roman's hesitation was any evidence, she power to back herself up.

 _But who is she?_ He wondered.

Oobleck needed to know.

"Well, well," she said, leaning back out and revealing a beautiful face set with amber eyes, "Colour me impressed, Roman. You've done well. By all means, continue the celebration. I think you've earned it tonight." She stepped forward uninvited and took the space on the couch beside Roman, crossing one leg over the other and helping herself to a drink. Roman stiffened at her proximity, and he wasn't the only one. Neo's posture suddenly seemed a lot sharper. "How were the White Fang?" the woman asked.

"About as incompetent as expected. It took then ten minutes to find an SDC cargo container in a dock filled with SDC cargo containers. You'd think the snowflake would give it away."

"I see." Far from be offended, the woman looked amused. She sipped her drink. Jaune knew his gaze lingered too long when her eyes flicked to his and caught him watching. "And who is this young man?" she asked. "I don't recognise him, Roman. A new protégé?"

"In a manner of speaking. This is John. John White. I picked him out from Junior's lot and he's proved useful."

The woman looked him up and down, and despite her coy, seductive smile, her words were brittle and cold. "He doesn't look strong."

"He has a brain."

"Ah." She nodded. "Those without strength often seek to compensate elsewhere."

"He's not as bad as he looks either," Roman said – and Jaune wasn't sure whether to feel pleased or insulted by his defence. "Some Huntsman training, though not enough to get into an academy and no proper weapon to speak of. Potential's there, though. I like potential. It's easier to train a smart man up than force a brain into a muscle headed idiot."

"I cannot disagree with you there, Roman," she said. Her eyes returned to his, and he felt like she read him inside and out in a single moment. His nervousness must have been apparent because she smiled as if amused by something. "A pleasure to meet you, John. My name is Cinder. Remember it."

He nodded. "Nice to meet you."

"I'm sure it is."

Roman glanced between the two of them nervously, and whatever kind of criminal he was it seemed clear he didn't like Cinder's attention on one of his men. "What are you doing here anyway?" he asked. "Don't tell me you figured I'd mess this up and came to crack the whip?"

"The thought did cross my mind."

"That's harsh." He sighed dramatically. "I'm hurt."

"I'm sure a little reward from me will help ease your pain. You'll find it waiting in your account. Tell me, were there any interruptions in your little task?"

"It almost sounds like you expected some…" Roman accused, and narrowed his eyes when Cinder smiled and refused to answer. "Yeah, there was a showing by a huntress if that's what you mean. Weird girl that was stronger than she had any right to be."

"Oh? What happened to her?"

"Dead," Roman said coldly, and Jaune flinched. "Neo and the kid killed her."

He flinched again – and a third time when Cinder's eyes focused back on him, suddenly a lot more interested than they had been before. The conversation felt dangerous enough already, but her inclusion added all kinds of complications. She was in charge of Roman; that much was obvious. Did that mean she was in charge of the White Fang, too? Whether she was or not, it still meant that this information was important. Important enough to kill for, and important enough to die for, as well.

The important thing now was getting out in one piece, and that meant keeping his head down and not drawing any undue attention to him. _I'm a boring goon,_ he whispered to himself. _Don't notice me. I'm unimportant._

"I see." Cinder regarded him with a sly smile. "That's certainly interesting. Perhaps I misjudged the poor boy. It seems you have found something of a hidden gem."

"I have a knack for seeing potential," Roman said. "Case in point with Neo."

"As do I," Cinder agreed. "My own are more than skilled enough."

"I'm surprised they're not here. Don't they follow you around like shadows, or are they terrorising my men?"

"Neither of those," Cinder said. "They are… dealing with a leak."

Roman's face hardened. "My men are loyal."

"It's not within your group, Roman. Worry not. I'm sure you can guess as to where the failure lies…"

"White Fang, again? Seriously?"

"The Vale branch is lacking in many ways," Cinder said, sipping some more beer. It looked odd on her, almost like she didn't fit so crass a beverage. "We may soon see a changing of the guard. If all goes well, our animalistic friends may become quite a bit more organised."

"Oh? Any more you can tell me?"

"Perhaps…" Cinder said, looking pointedly at Jaune. Roman caught on.

"Sorry to cut the party short, kiddo, but I think it's time you went and got some rest. Good work tonight. I'll let you know if we have another job that comes up, but you don't want to stay for this. There are some things you're better off not getting involved with." And some people, apparently. That was the message Roman was truly sending. Get out while you still can.

Jaune nodded, relieved for the opportunity. His legs were shaky as he stood but he caught himself and said his farewells to each of them in turn. Roman and Neo nodded, but Cinder cocked her head to the side and smiled.

"I'm sure it won't be goodbye, John. If you work with Roman, then you and I will likely see one another again. I look forward to having a chance to better get to know you."

"Yeah, I… I look forward to that as well," he said.

Cinder caught the lie. How could she not? It obviously amused her, and she waved him away with a smirk. Even as he left, he felt her eyes bore into his back, and it took all his strength not to break into a sprint. It was only when he was outside the warehouse that he relaxed, and even then, he still expected to feel the sharp bite of a dagger in his spine. If Roman was dangerous, then that woman was pure poison. There was a new player on the board - and he had her name.

The VSS had to be told. Oobleck would know what to do with this.

* * *

 **Okay, so, it's been two weeks – thank you all for the birthday wishes. I am thirty now, which officially means I need to start thinking about what my midlife crisis is going to be. Nothing comes to mind yet, but I'm sure it'll strike sooner or later.**

 **This chapter is a bit of a divergent point, and fully intended as one. Up until now the story has somewhat closely followed canon, but the docks is a big deal for the show, and the way it works out is integral for many different aspects. These changes here, simple as they may seem, will have a profound effect.**

 **It also means I can stop hand-holding canon so much, which is a definite relief.**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 3** **rd** **December**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	19. Chapter 19

**Well, here's the next chapter. We have some new cover art for this now thanks to Kegi. There is actually two, with the one I chose being his combat gear and what he wears on active missions, and the other being a more formal outfit for when he does the** _ **other**_ **side of his spy work. You can see both on his Deviant Art profile.**

* * *

 **Cover Art:** Kegi Springfield

 **Chapter 19**

* * *

"Interesting," Oobleck said, sat at his desk with his hands linked before him. "This is very interesting. No, I dare say this is incredible. You've done well, Rat."

Jaune inclined his head and tried his hardest to smile. A part of him was proud of how much he'd managed to discover – and even he could see how valuable the information was. The problem was that his guilt overpowered it.

"I hope it's worth it…"

"It will be." Oobleck noticed his reluctance and sighed. "No one can blame you for what happened to that huntress, Rat. You did everything you could to not hurt her, and you had no idea Torchwick's accomplice would attack from behind. You are without fault in this."

"I know, but… I just… If I was stronger then I might have been able to knock her out and this wouldn't have happened."

"And had we more information before you arrived, this could have been avoided altogether. Do you blame us for not knowing all his plans ahead of time? Do you blame the police for having failed to stop all of this?"

"No," he admitted, aware of what Oobleck was saying.

"It's easy to blame someone, but even easier to blame yourself. I'm well aware no amount of words from myself will help ease your guilt, but I will try them nonetheless. This was not your fault."

Jaune nodded. He knew that theoretically, but it was hard to accept it. Penny had made her choice, faced them while clearly outnumbered, and then stayed when it was obviously too dangerous. In every way that mattered it was her fault, or maybe Neo or Roman's. That didn't stop his stomach twisting unpleasantly or his mouth feeling like ash, however.

But Oobleck's words helped a little, even so.

"You said you believed the huntress was from Atlas," Oobleck said.

"She told me how she'd take me to General Ironwood as opposed to the police."

"Interesting." Oobleck tapped his finger on the desk. "I will search any databases for information on her, but if it's as I believe then she might have been a huntress from Atlas directly under the General's control."

"What does that mean for us?"

"Atlas are an allied nation so there is no real reason to feel alarmed at one of their own coming here, especially so close to the festival. That said, it is odd for one to come, specifically target the docks at the time of a robbery, and then try to capture two wanted criminals alive." His eyes hardened behind his glasses. "I will look into it."

"And this Cinder woman?"

"Again, I will look into it. She clearly has some control over Roman and so may be the head of the snake we have been looking for. If she shows herself… we will move against her. We know too little for you to take her on, however. Do not risk your cover."

His relief was palpable, and he nodded to show he understood. It had been bad enough trying to fight Penny – and the name still made him flinch – but from Neo's reaction alone, this woman was even stronger.

"You want me to stay undercover, then?"

"For now, yes. We've gained a lot, but I am convinced there is yet more. I am a man who prefers to be well informed. Either way, you should take the time to recover from your ordeal."

He nodded and rose from his seat to make his way towards the door, only to be stopped by Oobleck's voice before he could open it. He glanced back. "What is it?"

"Rat," he began. "No, Jaune… is there anything else you would like to tell me?"

Confused, he looked back. "No. At least I don't think so…"

"Very well." Oobleck waved a hand. "Be on your way."

/-/

"I think it's wonderful," Pyrrha said at the dinner table later that evening. A whole day of class had passed by quicker than he'd thought it would.

"Hm?" he asked, still distracted and mulling Penny's death.

"I said I think it's wonderful how you and Blake were able to set aside your differences and become friends once more," the redhead said, smiling at him and Blake in turn. "Ren and I were worried for a while."

"Ah, yeah." He looked to Blake and smiled weakly. She nodded back before she turned back to her meal and book, losing herself in them. He had to wonder if that was her way of dealing with what had happened, or if she cared at all.

She had been White Fang, after all. Who was to say death and murder weren't acceptable to her?

"It was when the two of you slipped away on the weekend," Yang said, butting in as she often did. "Don't tell me the two of you…?"

"No," Blake said, turning a page. "No, we did not."

"So, you two aren't…?"

Blake sighed and closed her book, slowly putting it down on the table. It was surprising just how many people seemed interested in the topic – Yang's team especially. Ruby had her eyes on the table and her shoulders were stiff.

"We're not like that," Blake said. "Jaune and I are partners. Nothing more. We spent some time together to come to terms with our differences and reach an agreement. I can personally assure you nothing of a romantic nature happened. As can he, I imagine."

Blake and him?

Yeah, right.

"Nothing happened," he agreed, laughing and rubbing the back of his head. "I'm still me. Single as ever."

"Poor baby," Yang said, reaching over to pat his arm. "Well, maybe that won't last forever, you know?"

He felt a strange hope stir up inside. "Is that an offer?"

"No."

The hope died.

"Yang!" Ruby hissed, hitting her sister's side. She looked to him and smiled. "I'm sorry, Jaune. She doesn't think before she opens her mouth – and then doesn't think after that, either. Don't be mean," she added, hitting her sister again.

Jaune chuckled, his mood lightened by her protective streak. "It's no problem, Ruby. I was just joking." He hadn't been, of course. Yang was hot. If she'd been interested…? Well, he'd have been lucky beyond belief. "Why did you bring dating up, anyway?" he asked Yang, earning a panicked squeak from Ruby.

"Oh, no reason," the blonde girl laughed. "It's just that Weiss and I have been asked to help with the arrangements for the dance. I figured you might find some lucky girl to ask as your date."

"Eh, I doubt it. I'll probably end up going stag… or with Ren."

"Ha ha, that's _so_ funny," Nora giggled and glared at the same time. Beside her, Weiss made an obvious `no` gesture with her hands, crossing them before her face and shaking her head. It didn't take him long to figure out what she meant, especially with how Nora was looking at Ren.

"Or maybe I'll just go alone," he said.

"Or you could ask someone out," Yang challenged.

"Which will be the same thing," he returned. "I doubt there's a girl in Beacon who would say yes. Not one I know, anyway."

It wasn't even like he was being dramatic or cynical either. Girls wouldn't accept an invitation from a complete stranger, and the number of girls he personally knew and could consider himself friends with was limited to just the two teams. Nora was out for obvious reasons, as was Blake. Yang had already said no – and Weiss was something he figured was so obviously a no that he didn't dare ask in the first place. That left Ruby and Pyrrha, one of which was awkward and flighty around him, the other being a famous fighter far above his league.

Plus, he'd never really been good with things like this. All in all, the chances of him going with anyone were pretty slim. Besides, he had enough things to worry about with the VSS, Blake and the stolen Paladins.

"I'm just saying don't count yourself out yet," Yang said. "There might be a cute girl just waiting to be asked. If you don't risk a no, you'll never get a yes."

"I'll keep it in mind," he said. "Can we talk about something other than my lamentable relationship status?"

"Because we're all so successful there," Yang laughed. "Oh, fine. You hear the news this morning? Weiss wouldn't shut up about it."

The girl in question slammed her hands down on the table and glared at her teammate. "That's because it's _my_ family involved," she said. "A robbery in the Vale docks specifically targeting _my_ family. How am I not to be upset?"

The docks…

Jaune flinched, though no one caught it and even if they had they'd have never pinned it on him. His eyes sought out Blake a few seats down, and hers met his. She pointedly made no motion – not even a shake of the head. Instead, she turned back to Weiss and spoke.

"It might not have been your family specifically. Perhaps they just wanted the dust and yours happened to be the closest to hand."

"It's possible, I suppose," Weiss said. "Not that it makes it all that better. It's bad enough with all the dust robberies in Vale as it is without them feeling brazen enough to attack shipping lanes. What's next, piracy on the high seas?"

"They're pinning the blame on Torchwick," Yang said, resting an elbow on the table.

"That's probably an easy guess," Jaune said, trying to sound as calm as Blake did. That was the true trick, he figured. It wasn't in staying silent and showing no emotion, but in acting totally normal and joining in the conversation. "Then again, they might just blame everything on him." He recalled Penny's body and swallowed. "Did they find anything else? Any evidence?"

"If so, they're not reporting it. Just two stolen containers and a few others left open."

That was it?

"Nothing else?" he asked.

"Nope. Why?"

"No reason." That couldn't be right. What about Penny's body? He glanced to Blake and this time she did react, just a small shake of the head – a message to not enquire further. Perhaps she knew something. They hadn't had much time to talk after the mission, since they'd both arrived back in Beacon at different times and been forced to get some rest before classes.

"All this theft is going to be a pain before the festival," Yang said. "Dust prices are through the roof."

"They wouldn't be if Vale could keep it from being stolen," Weiss groused. "Ugh, that Torchwick guy. I've no idea why he hasn't been caught yet. Now there's that other crook, as well."

"Other?" Pyrrha asked.

"The one Ruby ran into," Yang said, tapping her sister's arm.

Ruby nodded. "John White."

 _Well, this is awkward,_ Jaune thought, unsure what to say or think about a conversation blatantly about himself. Should he feel proud at how infamous he'd become? Should he feel annoyed that they were calling his alter-ego a bad guy without knowing the full story?

He felt neither.

Call it childish, but he was intrigued.

"I've not heard of the guy," he lied. "What's he like?"

From the corner of one eye he caught Blake scoff loudly, no doubt catching his interest and thinking it egotistical. And yeah, it probably was, but still… how often did you get to listen to people talk to you like this?

"He's a crook," Weiss said. "What is there to say?"

"He had some training," Ruby added. "Not much, though. I didn't think he was very strong."

Ouch…

"Well he managed to hold you off, didn't he?" he asked.

"Only because he tricked me and took a hostage!"

"So, he's smart?"

"Sounds dumb to me," Blake called. He sent her a quick glower.

"I'll tell you what he's like when Nora and I get our hands on him," Yang said, holding up a palm for Nora to high-five her. "We'll get vengeance for what happened to Rubes."

"And break his legs!" Nora crowed. "One each. It'll be fun."

Jaune blanched. It wasn't what he'd been looking to hear, but it was valuable information nonetheless. He made a mental note to avoid the two at all costs, even as they brought the conversation back to the Vytal Festival and what they'd be doing on the lead up to it.

He tuned out halfway through, turning back to his dinner and mulling his own plans. Oobleck hadn't given him any specific orders, but he'd been warned that they'd need to recover the Paladins before then or things might become complicated. When the students from Atlas came as transfers, there was no telling if the ASF wouldn't try to slip a few into their ranks. If the VSS had Agents among the student body, then why nor the ASF? They'd taken a lot of their methods from the VSS, after all.

 _Come to think of it, that means this festival is pretty messed up. I'm weak, but the others aren't and they're probably stronger than average students._ If he followed that logic and applied it to Vacuo and Mistral as well, then it meant the tournament would be compromised from every direction. Each Kingdom was cheating – and the irony was that no one was doing it because they cared about the tournament in the slightest.

Though, now that he thought about it, each of the spy agencies might ask their Agents to throw the matches so as not to appear suspiciously strong. Man, the tournament was going to be complicated as hell.

What happened if two Agents told to lose met?

That would be a match worth watching – if only for the ridiculousness of it. His scroll buzzed before he could continue such thoughts, and he pulled it out.

"What is it?" Pyrrha asked. "Does your Uncle need you again?"

"Something like that," he said, ignoring Blake's pointed expression. He could only hope she took his refusal to tell her as proof that he couldn't. "Looks like he needs me to pick something up for him in the city."

"Where from?" she asked.

"Just some book store in Vale. I'll be back in a few hours."

/-/

Blake watched him leave with a monumental force of effort. Her body ached to follow with or without his permission. It was impossibly difficult to ignore it, and even then, she only managed it because a part of her knew her life would be in danger if she did. Not just her life, but also her place in Beacon. There was no way Roman was calling him in so soon after his latest raid. This had to be the VSS, which meant it wasn't something she could take part in.

"That's a mighty long look for someone not interested in him like that," a teasing voice crooned into her ear. She glared over at Yang, who had leaned across the table and now had her face hovering scant inches from hers. "A lien for your thoughts?"

"They're worth more than that," she said, pushing the girl back. She had problems enough with one blonde in her life. She didn't need another.

"Don't be like that. We're friends, right? You can tell me if something is up."

"You seem awfully interested in my non-existent love life. Is there something I should know?"

Yang's eyes flickered to Ruby; an unconscious movement but one which gave Blake more information than she'd had before. She hadn't been blind or deaf to the teasing either, and it looked like it was a little more serious than she'd imagined. _So, Ruby has an interest in Jaune? That's… interesting, given she's one of his targets._

It wasn't any business of hers, however.

"You don't need to worry," she said, meeting Yang's gaze. "I'm no competition."

The blonde grinned. "I'm sure I have no idea what you mean."

"I'm sure you don't."

"Still, you have to admit that the two of you have been spending a lot of time together lately. What's all that about?"

None of your business, she wanted to say. That wouldn't be wise _or_ appreciated, however. Her team was interwoven with theirs, partly through Nora and Ren, but also through Jaune's need to find out whatever hidden information he wanted from Yang's sister.

"The two of us had a falling out," she said. "You know full well about that. If we've spent time together, it's only in an effort to fix that. We're partners. It would be inconvenient for us to dislike one another for the next four years."

"Inconvenient, she says." Yang rolled her eyes. "Wow, you're about as enthusiastic as Weiss-cream. What were you fighting about, anyway? You were fine before Forever Fall." The girl's eyes lit up and she wriggled her eyebrows. "Did he try to make a move on you?"

Blake's gaze was flat. "No."

"Did you try to make a move on him?"

"Are you ignoring my words on purpose?"

"I'm just saying, maybe you liked him before but don't now that he broke your heart."

Blake sighed and refrained from pinching the bridge of her nose. Yang had clearly been reading too many romance novels, which was ironic given her own hobby. Talk about an over-active imagination. "I have never had such feelings for him, Yang. Our argument was over something of a more… ideological nature. As partners, we naturally speak a lot. Jaune said some things I didn't agree with and I said some in turn. We fought, realised our issues, and then made up for the benefit of the team."

"And this all happened during Forever Fall?"

She saw no harm in admitting that, so nodded.

"I see. Heh, that's pretty interesting. You two snuck off there, so I'm guessing you had your little tiff at that point. Well, whatever. Good to see it's sorted out between you." Yang glanced once more in the direction he'd left and chuckled. "You've got no romantic interest in him, though?"

"None," she said. "Your sister has a free route."

"And again, I have no idea what you mean. Or at least that's what you'll tell Ruby if she asks you what we were talking about."

Blake smirked. "My lips are sealed."

"Good. Now I just need you to lay some gossip on me." Yang saw her confused expression and laughed. "You know, things about him. What he does."

"I'm hardly going to spy on my partner for you," Blake said, amused at the irony.

"Not that. Not personal stuff, at least. Things like whether he's a good guy. Whether he can be trusted with a young girl's heart. What kinds of things he likes and how Ruby could get to know him a little more. You know, innocent stuff."

"All to give Ruby the edge, I take it."

"You've seen right through me," Yang said with a theatrical titter. "Oh no, whatever will I do?" She grinned and dropped the act. "So, you in? He likes Ruby and it'll help him out. It's not betraying him if it's something he wants."

It wasn't, and even though it was none of her business, it might be enough to win back some of the trust she'd lost. No, not lost – thrown away. She didn't know what his goal with Ruby was, but she was certain he wouldn't harm her. Maybe helping Yang push them together would give him an edge, even if it didn't end in the two getting together.

"Alright, I'll help. So long as it doesn't take too much of my time, anyway."

She could always be careful on what she passed on. Obviously, anything about the VSS and his late-night missions was out, but she could feed Yang some little things.

"Appreciate it, Blakey. I need to know what kind of guy he is if he's got even the smallest chance of being my sister's first."

"And the first way you think to achieve it is to enlist his partner to spy on him," Blake said with a teasing smirk of her own. "That says a lot about you."

"What can I say?" Yang laughed. "I'm a woman who prefers to be well informed."

/-/

The unremarkable car pulled into an alleyway and dimmed its lights. The occupants waited for a few long minutes to make sure they were clear, before the door opened and two figures clad in black exited. Jaune gently clicked his door shut, Vanguard doing the same on the other side. They were in full uniform, masks and all.

"There's a back entrance," Vanguard said, his voice coming not through his mask but the speakers in Jaune's. He jerked a thumb towards a grey door and Jaune tested it. To his surprise, it opened.

"It's unlocked."

"Not a good sign. Keep your wits about you, Rat."

Jaune nodded back, stepping aside so that Vanguard could suit his name and be the first to enter. He did so silently, though not without an alertness that hinted at an immediate and violent resolution to any surprises. Jaune followed close after, silently closing the door behind him as they entered the premises.

Tukson's Books, home to every book under the sun. It was also home to a dead body – laid flat on the carpet with a vacant gaze fixed on the two of them. Jaune's hand clamped onto his chest and he staggered to the side, almost throwing up at the stench alone.

"Hold it together," Vanguard grumbled. "If you can't handle this, then step back and let me."

Jaune let him gladly, stumbling away so that he could lean against the counter a few feet away – specifically out of range of the terrible smell of death and decay. "Why is the body still here?" he asked.

"No one's figured out he's dead." He nodded to the doors. "Those are locked, and the blinds are drawn. Apart from the fact the place didn't open, there's nothing to raise the alarm. He must not have gotten that much custom or someone would have noticed by now."

"It looks like he was about ready to move," Jaune said, nodding to some boxes off by the side. One or two were open and books could be seen stacked inside. "Maybe he was moving because his business wasn't doing well."

"Or maybe to get away from someone," Vanguard said, indicating the body.

"If he knew he was in trouble, wouldn't he have moved a little faster?"

Stacking books didn't seem like a priority if your life was in danger, after all. If it had been him, he'd have been out of Vale with just the clothes on his back and as much lien as he could carry. Tukson, rest his soul, had apparently felt no such haste.

"I guess that means he didn't know how close they were," Vanguard said. "He knew he was in danger but figured he had time. That or whoever was after him sped up their schedule and he didn't realise."

"The woman with Torchwick said she'd sent people to deal with a leak," Jaune whispered. He thought better of it a second later. "Did Oobleck tell you-"

"He did, and it's Director out here. I've been clued in on what you found out, and that woman, so don't worry about revealing anything here. Me, you and Magician are on this together. Information is pooled."

"But not the information on your identities," he pointed out.

"No, not that. You're too green to keep it if you got in trouble. It's easier this way."

Jaune sighed and looked up towards the ceiling. It wasn't an argument he was going to win. "Why am I even here with you? I'm pretty much useless at this. You'd be just as good on your own."

Vanguard didn't deny it, even as he knelt down and rummaged through the dead man's pockets. He was by far the more experienced Agent and knew exactly what to do both in a combat or investigation mission. By comparison, he was a rookie in every way.

"It's not that you're here to help me, but to add bodies," Vanguard finally said. "With Magician down, we're aware that Torchwick is onto us. That means your woman is too."

"She isn't my woman."

"Whatever. Point is, if I come here alone and focus on a dead body, I won't see the knife until it plunges into my back. You're my back-up in case something goes wrong. Not that you'll be as good as her," he added in a barely audible voice.

"You're pretty close to Magician."

"That a question or a statement?" The burly man sighed and shook his head. "Not that it matters, but yeah, I am. We were trained together. Thrown in at the deep end together. We got through stuff together and have been a team ever since. Make no mistake, neither of us hate you for intruding on that, but we're not used to working with a new member, least of all one that can barely hold his own."

Jaune winced. "I'm trying my best."

"We know. That's why we've not made an issue of it. No one's suggesting otherwise."

"But you'd rather have her here than me."

"Yeah. So? Wouldn't you rather have someone strong watching your back? Don't take it so personally." Vanguard paused, and then suddenly rummaged a little deeper. "Ah… what have we here?"

"You've found something?"

"Maybe." Vanguard tugged, and the man's shirt opened up, revealing a criss-cross of scars on his chest and body. There, on his left hip – just above his waist – was a tattoo. It was the White Fang symbol. "Well, well, looks like we've found your woman's leak. A shame we couldn't have found him alive and in one piece when he could still tell us what he knew."

"He has a tattoo of the terrorist group he's a part of," Jaune said. It seemed unreal, and no matter how much he imagined it he couldn't think of Blake having one. "Isn't that… well, a little stupid?"

"Not as much as you'd think. Back when the White Fang were a peaceful movement it used to be a show of support to have their symbol tattooed on you. It was a sign of peace, equality and a protest against oppression. When they went militant, many people were still left with them. That said, judging from the scars this guy wears, and the fact he was killed, I'd say he was a supporter and a member. He must have gotten tired of their methods and broke free. Those from before they turned are more likely to do so than fanatical new bloods."

So, in a way, Tukson was like Blake. She'd managed to stay hidden however, or just to outrun or outfight her pursuers. Had Tukson been too weak? Or had his murderers been too strong?

"Killed by concussive force crushing his ribcage and perforating his organs," Vanguard said, running a hand over the man's discoloured and obviously damaged pecs. "There are burns, too. Weird wounds. Not from a cutting weapon or from a mace. Not unless that mace was on fire."

"Not Cardin, then," Jaune joked.

"Who?"

"Some guy I know. Racist. I just…" He shrugged helplessly.

"Cute, Rat. Cute. No, I'd say this was those mysterious friends of Torchwick's boss. They came in through the front entrance – locked it behind them."

"How can you tell?"

"The lights are on," Vanguard pointed out, "and yet the door is locked. I very much doubt Tukson locked it behind him after he died, or that he locked them in with him. If it were late at night, he'd have been killed in his apartment, but he died in the store – a clear sign he was working when it happened."

Jaune nodded, impressed with the logic. It all made sense when it was pointed out to him, but he hadn't thought to notice any of those things.

"They come in, talk – probably threaten – then kill him. He fights back but it's no use." Vanguard put the man's hand down, his black gloves touching the carpet as he scanned the room. "The doors are locked from the insides, so the two leave another way. Probably out the back. That reinforces it being a day job, since they obviously didn't want to be seen leaving the scene of the crime."

"Still, a murder in the middle of the day. That's pretty brazen."

"Hm. They're either confident, cocky or wanting to send a message." He shrugged. "Could be all three. They got away with it, so can't exactly criticise."

"How did _we_ find out about this place, then? How did we know this would be where someone was dead? You brought me right here, no detours. Did the VSS know something would happen to Tukson?"

Had they let him die, just so that they could find out some information about the killers – or maybe to draw them out into the open?

Was he another sacrifice for the people of Vale?

"We cross-referenced any people suspected of having White Fang ties," Vanguard said, not even noticing his tone, or not reacting to it if he had. "We then checked through each to see which hadn't been seen in the last 10 hours or so. From that list, we hacked into Vale's CCTV network and databases to see if any had used public services, and scratched those off the list. After a few hours, we came down to a small list of names."

"And Tukson was on that list?"

"Yes. If you're asking why we didn't move sooner, then it's because we didn't know. The second you brought intel about a leak in the White Fang being silenced, we moved to find that leak. Our goal was to capture it first," he admitted, "but it looks like they got here first."

So, it hadn't been a callous move on their part. He relaxed against the counter and nodded. _Blake's paranoia is getting to me. I've got no reason to distrust the VSS. They've been nothing but honest so far._

"We knew the White Fang were behind this. Why don't we round up all those people?"

"I think you're under-estimating how many people approved of the White Fang's initial goals, Rat. As a peaceful movement I'd say they had at least 55% support across Vale. More people are okay with faunus than let on, and that would be hundreds, if not thousands, of people to investigate and arrest. We don't have the resources for that."

"There's so many? If they had that kind of support, then how come their protests didn't work?"

"Because democracy is weighted in favour of the important people," Vanguard said. "It doesn't matter that the majority wanted change. Those with bigger pockets didn't, and they were able to sway public opinion. Advertisements, news stories, anything they could pay for that might turn public opinion against those _dirty animals_. You'd be surprised how many people believe whatever they see on the TV. Before long, people hated the faunus – and no one even knew why. The politicians saw the way the wind was blowing and sided against them."

"That's disgusting…"

"That's democracy. Rule by numbers, where everyone – no matter how undeserving – gets to have a say in how matters above their understanding are handled. You wouldn't want a backwards idiot operating on you in a hospital, but you'll accept one deciding who gets into power to decide how much funding said hospital gets. More often than not what holds Vale back from progressing is that the _good_ decisions, the decisions that would improve lives, are not the popular ones. We could have all the homeless in Vale in houses for winter if we wanted, but it would mean increased taxes and the majority won't accept that. As such, hundreds of homeless will starve to death like they always do." Vanguard stepped past him and sighed. "Never under-estimate the ability of everyday people to be callous and selfish monsters. They'll cry that `someone should do something`, but won't raise a hand to do it themselves, nor dip one into their pockets."

Jaune was surprised by just how much Vanguard seemed to hate such people. "This is a big deal for you, I take it?"

"Maybe." The Agent shrugged one shoulder and tutted loudly. "It's more like I tire of people whining when they refuse to do anything themselves. I was born into this stupid Kingdom as much as anyone else, and I didn't exactly have a choice as to whether I served or not."

"You were forced into the VSS?"

"In a manner of speaking. Not that it matters now. I'm happy with where I am." He turned and crossed his arms. "We should leave. We have what we came for and I doubt our friends will have left any evidence above what we have already."

"What about Tukson? Are we just going to leave him?"

"Unless you want to carry him through Vale to a place you can bury him."

He couldn't, of course, but that didn't stop him shooting the poor man an agonised look. He'd been killed, murdered, and yet they were going to do nothing about it, nor even alert the police as to the body. _We'll avenge you,_ he promised. It was the only thing they could do, and he doubted it would comfort Tukson in the slightest.

It was the only thing he could offer.

"What's our next step?" Jaune asked as they both made their way out the back door and into the abandoned alleyways at the back of the shop.

"We wait for this Cinder woman to show herself and then we strike. At least that's what I imagine the Director will decide. No chances taken; a huge move against her with overwhelming odds. We'll cut the head off the snake in one go."

An attack on the biggest enemy… it sounded terrifying. If it meant fighting against Neo and Roman, not to mention someone stronger than them, then he had no idea how it would be handled.

"Would they expect me to take part?" he asked.

"Scared?"

"Yes," he admitted. He didn't feel ashamed about it, either. "I'm not as strong as you and Magician, and nowhere near as strong as Roman Torchwick."

"Well I wouldn't worry about it. I doubt the Director will have you get involved directly. I don't know if you've noticed or not, but it looks like he's prepping you for a different role."

Jaune glanced to his companion. "What's that mean?"

"You haven't realised it yet?" He laughed and turned to face him. "I'm more of a combat role than anything else. I'm sent in when the situation looks bad and there's a chance it'll go loud. Magician is the same, but slightly better at stealth. She offsets my weaknesses. The Director will keep things like that in mind when it comes to what kind of missions we're sent on. Everyone has their speciality." He tapped Jaune's chest. "Have you not figured out yours?"

He had.

It had just taken Vanguard pointing it out to make it obvious.

"Infiltration. He wants me for undercover work."

First Beacon, and now Roman's camp. Aside from that, the only mission he'd been sent on was to raid that one warehouse with Vanguard and Magician, and that could have been classed as a test more than anything. A chance for Oobleck to see how he reacted to an assault-based mission and decide whether he would be sent on any more.

Did that mean he'd failed at the warehouse, or just that he'd done better in infiltrating? It was hard to argue with it since he'd managed to find out about this Cinder woman. As Oobleck had said, it was a big discovery for them.

If it kept him out of direct combat, he was fine with it.

"It takes a special kind of nerve to work inside someone else's group," Vanguard said – a rare amount of praise, even if it was grudgingly given. "That's not for me, I'll admit. You need to hide your strength, conceal your training, and subdue your reactions. Maybe you have an advantage in a few of those."

His lack of any formal training, for sure. It had kept him hidden in Beacon – apart from with Blake, but she was definitely an exception given her past. Come to think of it, Vanguard had mentioned a database of suspected White Fang sympathisers. He wondered if Blake was on that. If so, being his partner, Oobleck would have already seen it and known. It was possible that being an active member up until a few months ago, she wouldn't be on the list.

"Everything's been recorded and sent to the Director," Vanguard said. "Let's get out of here before something…" He trailed off, looking towards the car they'd come in. Jaune saw the problem instantly. The tyres were flat, slashed through and deflated.

"Vandals?" Jaune whispered.

"Thermal," Vanguard hissed. The command activated Jaune's as well, the visor washing over as heat was shown as colour – revealing their car cold and blue, but a red and yellow shape in front of it. It was a humanoid figure.

There was someone invisible sat on the car's bonnet. Jaune's heart hammered in his chest – the only person he knew that could hide herself like that springing to mind. She'd killed Penny. Would he now be next?

"Vanguard!"

"I know. I see her. Back away."

They didn't make it three metres before a set of footsteps echoed behind them. At the other end of the alley, two figures approached. One was tall, the other short, but both moved with the purpose of people expected to be there.

"Well, well, well," one said – a silver-haired young man with cruel eyes. "It looks like we were right on the money with this one. Two birds with one stone."

"We?" the girl – green-hair and red eyes – scoffed. "I think you mean _she_ was on the money. You just follow orders, like always. Leave the thinking to us."

"This is bad," Vanguard said, looking between the two parties.

"What do we do?" Jaune asked.

"We try to escape when we have the chance. Don't let your guard down. The one in front uses illusions and fights with a sword hidden in an umbrella. I want you against her."

"Are you mad!?"

"No, just cautious. We have no idea what these two can do. Even if that girl is strong, she's a known quantity. You'll have a better chance with her than two people of unknown strength and ability. That's where I come in."

He sounded calm – and it was that alone which gave Jaune the strength to nod. He wasn't nearly as confident, already shaking and sweating in equal measure. They were out alone against three people. He could hazard a guess they weren't interested in keeping them alive, either.

"Nothing to say?" the silver-haired teen asked. It was a reminder that they couldn't actually hear their voices through the masks and doubtless assumed they had remained silent. "Not even going to ask how we knew you were here or what our intentions are? Not going to ask us to spill our dastardly plans before we kill you?"

Vanguard drew his twin metal rods.

Jaune drew his knife – a different shape and kind to the one he used in his John White outfit. Fortunate given who he was against.

"No? Man, that's just lame."

"The leak wasn't just the White Fang," Vanguard said, his voice filtering into Jaune's ears. "That woman meant us, as well. The bait was set – the body left behind. They waited to see if anyone would investigate and we fell right into their hands."

"And now we're trapped…"

"And now we're trapped," he agreed. "But they're trapped, too." The man flexed his arms when Jaune glanced his way. "I've sent out a call for support. If we can hold on, we can turn the tables on them."

"How long will that take?"

"No idea."

"And until then?"

"Survive."

The two before them had clearly decided the masked men weren't going to answer and had fallen into combat stances. The girl drew forth two sickle-like weapons, though she held them like guns, reminding him of Ren. The man's stance screamed hand to hand. Of Neo, he knew how she fought – and just how deadly she was. He tried his hardest to stand tall and proud like Vanguard did. He wasn't sure if anyone spotted his shaking legs or not, but he desperately wanted to run. To run and hide. To never stop until he was safe and away.

But he didn't.

He couldn't.

"Good luck," he whispered to Vanguard.

"You too," the man replied. "For the Kingdom of Vale."

"For Vale," Jaune echoed. He felt sick to his stomach.

Vanguard stepped forward, flourishing his weapons and making his intent to fight the two clear, while Jaune did the same on the opposite side, looking to the multi-coloured girl who had finally dropped her illusion. She stood now on the bonnet, the added height allowing her to smirk cockily down on him.

"One thing," Vanguard said without turning around. "Our cars are VSS-tech, which means they're about as high tech as everything else. Designation 1409. Codename: Vanguard. Initiate emergency termination. Timer: two seconds."

The car's headlights flashed brightly.

Neo glanced down, widened her eyes and made to leap away.

The explosion struck first. It buffeted the alley in heat and fire, propelling the girl and shrapnel everywhere, smashing windows and denting walls on either side. The two behind flinched back in surprise – the opening Vanguard needed to dash into them and catch the girl about the side of the face while she was distracted.

Jaune knew it was the only opening he'd get as well. He didn't for a second think Neo would be down. Not one second. He dashed forward, flicking his thermal vision back on and focusing on the vaguely human-shaped signature among a bright flare of orange and red flames. No hesitation. Not this time. It was kill or be killed.

And he didn't want to die.

* * *

 **Well, the cats are out of the bag – many of them. Mercury and Emerald reveal themselves, but intend to take out our intrepid VSS members long before they have the chance to relay that information home.**

 **This would have been a nice time for Blake's paranoia to kick in. "Oh, is that how it is? One second it's all `no Blake, stop interfering` and the next it's `Blake, please, I need you to have followed me`."**

 **Well, I'm sure Jaune will do fine against Neo. I mean, it's just Neo, right?**

 **Right…?**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 10** **th** **December**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	20. Chapter 20

**Here we go.**

* * *

 **Cover Art:** Kegi Springfield

 **Chapter 20**

* * *

Blake paused as a shiver ran down her spine. She stopped suddenly, and Yang bumped into her back, bounced off and stumbled.

"Hey, what's up?" she asked.

"Nothing," she said, eyes fixed on the green-haired professor as he passed them in the corridor. Doctor Oobleck paid no attention to either of them, already in a hurry as he brushed past and was gone. He'd always been a hyperactive teacher, but she knew better.

"Huh, Oobleck sure seems in a rush. I wonder if something is wrong."

Blake's shoulders stiffened but she forced them to relax. Yang's words hadn't been intended like that and it was foolish of her to let them affect her. Whatever Jaune was doing, he was probably fine. Whatever Oobleck was doing was no business of hers so long as it didn't involve her.

She'd made that promise. It was time to keep it.

"Didn't you want to talk about Jaune?" she asked, catching Yang's attention as the other girl stared in the direction their teacher had gone in.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm not the one who suddenly pulled the brakes in the middle of the corridor."

"I didn't want to be run down by Oobleck."

"Heh. Funny."

Was it? Well, it was a bit of a known secret between the two teams that Yang's sense of humour left something to be desired. That something being a sense of humour in the first place. Blake tossed her head and moved on, listening with only half an ear to the questions the blonde rattled off. Deep inside, she was busy forcing herself not to rush out into Vale and see with her own eyes what was happening.

But Jaune had placed his faith in her – and his only request was that she didn't try to interfere in what the VSS were doing. That she trusted him and didn't try to stick her nose in at every opportunity. With that in mind, she sighed and let her paranoia go. She wouldn't interfere. She would trust him to be able to look after himself.

"It's nothing, Yang. Let's go."

Jaune would be pleased at any rate…

/-/

Jaune slammed his knife towards Neo's face, all squeamishness gone in the knowledge of what she could and would do to him if she had the chance. Her parry was sloppy, uneven, and though it saved her from a blade to the eye he was still able to drive his fist, and the handle of the dagger, into her left cheek. Her head snapped back. She pushed off to create room, but he stepped in and slashed for her throat. When she ducked, he rammed forward and drove a knee into her face.

At any other time, Neo might have back-flipped away and taunted him, but the explosion from the car had taken some toll on her. Apart from her singled clothing and skin, her body swayed left and right – her ears no doubt ringing from the noise and ruining her balance. She looked sick, like she wanted to buckle over and vomit, and what skin could be seen under the dirt was paler than usual.

She wasn't at her best, which was fortunate given that her best could have slaughtered him in an instant. As it was, he swung high, drawing her arms up to block, then gripped her elbow and twisted it to the side. She let out a silent cry of pain and slammed her heel into his mask, knocking him back. Even then, she stumbled on one foot and failed to properly steady herself, fumbling against a wall with both hands to keep herself standing.

Behind, the sound of metal on metal, gunshots and dust explosions echoed. Vanguard was busy keeping Emerald and Mercury busy. He'd have liked to see how that was going but he didn't have time. Every minute was time for Neo to recover and gather herself. Every second could mean death. Even now she was shaking her head to try and clear it, one palm cradling her cheek.

He dashed in, swept low and tried to bring his dagger up under her chin. Neo's mismatched eyes narrowed at the last second and she leaned back, kicking up with one foot. It caught the bottom of his hand and knocked his weapon away. Her smile was short-lived as he barrelled into her and carried her to the concrete. Her palm struck his mask but the armour held and he forced the umbrella out of her other. His knees found purchase on either side of her hips and he brought both hands down on her head.

She managed to block it with a hasty parry, through from the gasp she let off it still hurt. She kicked up and wrapped one leg around his neck from behind. She tried to straighten her body and pull him off, but he forced his aura to hold true and punched down on her again. Another gasp, a slight weakening of her grip and a dizzy expression.

In a fair fight he had no chance. He wouldn't give her one. He pressed his right hand to her left hip and slammed his other hand down on his vambrace. There was a pneumatic hiss followed by an explosion of gas – and Neo's body jolted.

This time, some noise came from her – an agonised hiss and shriek as the hook shot dug into her flesh at point-blank range. She quickly tried to defend herself with aura, but it had already drawn blood and no doubt broken a bone as well. With tears in her eyes she twisted an arm around his neck and kicked up from behind, using both her arms and legs to knock him off. She staggered away, pulling the hook from her body in a spray of blood and tossing it aside. She staggered over to her umbrella while Jaune picked up his dagger.

She no longer smirked as she watched him. The pain had broken through her nausea from the explosion, but she limped on one foot and her eyes promised nothing but the most brutal murder. Her body flickered and she vanished from view.

"Thermal," he whispered. His visor flashed red and her outline became visible once more. She seemed shocked by his ability to dodge her thrust, but managed to parry his counter-attack easily enough. She twisted and spun low, sweeping for his feet, but he brought up one foot and blocked her attack on his armoured soles. He stamped down to trap her blade. Neo growled and rammed a shoulder into his stomach, pulling the sword at the same time and managing to wrench it free before he could take advantage.

The two watched one another warily, circling in the small, cramped alleyway.

Neo was stronger; they both knew that. She was wounded though and low on aura, the lion's share of that having been dealt with Vanguard's opening gambit. She was definitely regretting her choice to taunt them by sitting on their car now. He, on the other end, was unharmed but still aware that she could kill him if he became complacent. Vanguard had spoken of reinforcements however, and he only had to hold his ground.

Assuming Vanguard was able to do the same, that was. He was two against one and versus opponents whose capabilities were unknown. The surprise of Neo's semblance had almost killed Magician. Who knew what those two had.

Jaune raised a hand to his mask and touched a button.

"This is Rat to HQ."

" _This is Magician,"_ a feminine voice returned. _"Agents are on route to your location, Rat. Be advised. Authorities have been alerted but the VSS has scrambled their radios, making organisation difficult. Our Agents will arrive first."_

"Can we get any more immediate help? Vanguard is two against one."

" _Negative, Rat. You're in the city. With the threat to innocent lives the VSS cannot render any of its long-range defensive systems."_

Jaune cursed. He had no idea what those long-range systems were, but they sounded bad if they couldn't be used on an alleyway with just five people in it. For all he knew they might have meant missiles or something akin to Beacon's rocket lockers. Either way, those were out of the question.

"Vanguard, what are the chances of us escaping?"

" _Low."_ The reply was clipped and hissed through gritted teeth. The taller man swept aside a kick from his silver-haired opponent but was forced to back away from the girl's blades. _"How's your fight? I don't think I can hold."_

Jaune glanced to Neo. "Better than I expected."

" _Can you win?"_

"No."

" _Shit."_ Vanguard broke away from the two and leapt away. His back touched against Jaune's, with Neo to the front and Cinder's two accomplices behind them.

"What do we do?" Jaune asked.

" _We'll need to break away and flee into the city. They won't follow us and risk more witnesses._ "

"You think they'll let us?"

" _Use Tukson's shop. The back door is still unlocked."_

Jaune's eyes strayed to the fire exit, which was only ten or so metres away, but which was still behind Neo. They'd need to break through her, all the while their backs would be exposed to the other two. It wasn't a good option, but if Vanguard couldn't take them out on his own then it was the only choice they had.

"Still nothing to say?" Mercury asked cockily.

"Can it," the other said. "They must be communicating some other way. If you both surrender and answer our questions we'll let you live. We're not unreasonable."

" _That's a lie,"_ Vanguard said. He needn't have since Jaune could well remember Tukson's body. There would be no mercy from these two and there was no doubt they were responsible. Cinder must have had Tukson silenced and then stationed someone to keep watch over the building to see if anyone investigated.

She might not have been waiting for them specifically, but Roman would have let her know about the black-masked intruders who attacked his warehouse. Whether this was luck or not on their part didn't really make a difference.

" _Be ready to move on my mark. I'll deal with the midget. You get the door open."_

"What about those two?"

" _Let me worry about them."_

He was going to deal with all three? There was no time to ask how as Vanguard rushed Neo, and Jaune followed after. Emerald and Mercury cursed and did the same, even as Neo's eyes widened. She hopped back readied her weapon but was left unprepared as Vanguard paused at the last second and threw his black coat at her.

She slashed at it but the blade didn't cut through the armour, especially when it folded about her weapon, arm and face. She flailed blindly but only became more entangled. Vanguard struck her stomach with his shoulder, turned her around and then kicked her in the direction of their pursuers.

He didn't wait to see how successful that was and slammed into and through the dire escape.

" _Keep moving,"_ he hissed. _"There's no telling how far this ambush goes. We could have left out the front door if we'd wanted, so there's a chance they have people watching the entire building. Every escape route is compromised."_

"Then how do we get out?"

" _We don't. We have help coming and the last thing we want to do is start a panic in the middle of the city."_ He shut the door behind him and wedged it shut with one of his metal rods. _"No more than the explosion already has."_

Jaune nodded. The car bomb had been a huge thing but there was a good chance the Council would write it up as a gas explosion or industrial accident rather than a terrorist attack. Things were safer that way and no one asked questions.

"We're holding here, then?"

Vanguard nodded and moved ahead. He ignored the angry curses and bangs on the door behind, and Jaune did too. They'd break through in time, but chances were they'd find an easier route. Given that this was a bookstore and apartment, there was no lack of that.

It wasn't the most defensible position; even he knew that. The shopfront had two huge windows, which were admittedly shut with the grills down, but which could still be smashed through by anyone with a huntsman weapon. Meanwhile, the doors were locked but wood and glass, making for just as easy an entrance. Tukson's apartment, which joined onto the back of the store, was also just as easily entered – either through the main entrance or any of the windows on the second floor.

As Vanguard and he walked past the body and shelves full of books, he couldn't help but flinch at every ominous creak.

" _Magician,"_ Vanguard said, touching one hand to his mask. _"What's the ETA on reinforcements?"_

" _I can't provide. The Director himself is en route, however."_

" _The old man, huh? That'll be interesting. I hope his head is still in the game."_ He ended the call with a click and turned to Jaune. _"You're frightened."_

Jaune winced. "You can tell?"

" _No, but it's expected. You've not had enough training to be ready for this. Few people are when it comes to their potential demise."_

That was one way of putting it. Jaune swallowed loudly. "Are you?"

" _I've been ready for the possibility of death since I was born, but that's neither here nor there. You could say I was born into this. My future was decided the moment I inherited the position."_

"Inherited?"

" _My old man was VSS before I was. So was his father, and his before him. You could say it's family tradition."_

"And he made you become a spy?"

" _I grew up on stories about it, though I never knew what my Dad was at the time. It wasn't until I was old enough to understand that I was inducted, but by that point I'd grown up on tales of heroism and sacrifice for your Kingdom."_ He chuckled. _"I guess you could say I chose it, but I'm fairly sure they raised me to do so."_

"That's…"

" _Stupid, immoral, wrong? Don't mistake my words, Rat. I'm determined to be here. Only difference is when I have a kid I'll give them the chance to be whatever they want to be, no matter what that is."_ Vanguard cocked his head to the side and pushed off the bookshelf he'd been leaning against. _"It's time. Divide and conquer, Rat. Use every trick you have."_

Jaune nodded. "R-Right…"

" _And one thing,"_ Vanguard said, catching his elbow with one hand. _"No one is going to blame you for being afraid. A coward isn't a person who feels afraid. It's someone who lets that fear stop them from doing what they feel is right. I know you joined the VSS for selfish reasons. I know you did it just for the chance to get into Beacon."_

"I… I know it was selfish-" He made to continue, but Vanguard shook his head.

" _I don't care, Rat. No one does. Your reasons are your own. All that matters is that if you stand by us, then you're one of the family._ " Vanguard pushed him away, and Jaune couldn't help but imagine the man was smiling under his mask. _"Remember that, Rat. Patriot, coward or anything in between; you're still VSS."_

"Vanguard…" He didn't know what to say. It was the closest the man had ever come to complimenting him but there was no time to think more on it. The words resonated with him, however. He was afraid, yes, but who the hell wouldn't be? That didn't mean he was going to huddle down and cry. "I understand," he said, turning back to the door to the apartment and drawing his dagger. "We'll see where this goes."

Vanguard nodded and fished something out of his belt. It was a small, round cannister, and it tinkled lightly as it rolled onto the floor. Thick, white, smoke began to billow out of it.

" _Thermal,_ " Vanguard intoned, and his mask responded.

Jaune nodded. "Thermal."

/-/

Mercury hovered by the door, one foot on the steps of Tukson's staircase as Emerald waited behind.

"What's the hold up?" she hissed.

"Under the door," he said, nodding down to the crack at the bottom. Thin wisps of smoke had started to waft through, drifting lazily around his ankles. "They're springing a trap of some kind."

"What's your point? You were all for a direct assault earlier. What happened to your bravado?"

"That was back when we still thought these guys were anti-White Fang vigilantes. I'm not buying that now. Those were huntsman trained at least, and their equipment was way too high tech. That car nearly took Roman's brat out of the fight entirely."

"Not amateurs, then. Neither are we."

"This is different. Who the hell is funding these people? Atlas? The Council? The SDC?"

"We'll find that out when we capture one."

He glanced back up to meet Emerald's eyes. "You want the two of us to rush in and fight them alone?"

"I don't _want_ anything," Emerald returned with a snarl. "But one thing I'd like to avoid is explaining to Cinder why we failed. We already had them on the back foot and they're trapped now. Let's just finish this as quickly as we can."

She made it sound so easy. Mercury sighed to himself and eased the door open with one hand. No immediate ambush came forth, but smoke billowed out, filling the annex between the apartment and the shop. It didn't take a genius to figure out that wasn't normal. With a quick nod to Emerald he dove into the shop, rolling to the left as Emerald did the same on the right, creating distance lest anyone open fire.

No one did. The store was as quiet as the grave.

 _This was a damn sight less worrying when it was just Tukson._ He looked to Emerald and nodded when she motioned for him to search the left. The tall bookshelves remained still and eerily quiet, smoke hanging low around the base but also drifting between loose books from both sides. What little light shone from the grated windows failed to penetrate far into it, and it felt like he was walking through a dark forest of towering books.

It reminded him too much of the time they fought the Fall Maiden. He didn't like that… not least of all because it was a moment where someone had been ambushed. The comparison cut a little close to home.

Something shuffled to the side. Mercury's leg snapped out, a blast of air and dust shooting out – hitting a shelf and blasting literature aside, showering the area with paper even as it caused a ripple in the smoke. What area he'd cleared was quickly refilled, the smoke billowing in like water. In the echoing silence that lingered, no sound of impact, pain or death could be heard.

What could be was Emerald's muffled cursing several aisles to the right.

His heart hammered in his chest. Okay, maybe he was a little jumpy. He didn't like facing an enemy he couldn't see or close distance with. Besides, Cinder wasn't around to see the mistake. Bastards and their little tricks.

The bookshelf to his right creaked. He spun towards it. Nothing.

A piston popped behind him.

It was the whistling sound in the air that alerted him. He twitched his head to the side, eyes wide as something silver shot past his cheek. There was a thick metallic chord attached to it – and as the spike drove into a wall on the other side of the shop, the chord pulled taut, and then instantly retracted.

A body was on the other end – hurtling through the bookshelf with a mighty crack and rushing for his face. Mercury cursed, pivoted and drove one foot up.

"Close, but not quite!" he crowed. "HAH!"

His foot caught the asshole around the head, knocking the black-coated man back and into the shelf he'd just burst through. Books rained down on top of him as he slumped at the base, and Mercury dashed forward, driving his foot into the side of his body. It didn't move.

"Tch. Not so tough now, are you?" He gripped the man's coat and turned him over. "Let's see what you look like under there, shall w- what!?"

Tukson's dead eyes stared back at him. The only difference was a black coat and an armband attached to his wrist, connected to the wire that had shot before. Mercury barely had the time to curse before the bookshelf behind him – the original one he'd heard movement behind – collapsed down on him.

There was no time to dodge. He twisted and planted one hand down and kicked upwards. It wasn't his best shot, but his boots did the rest – expelling dust in a shotgun blast that broke the woodwork in two and sent books flying everywhere. The force of it knocked most of the weight aside, preventing him from being crushed.

But it didn't do anything for the lithe figure in black that had hold of his ankle. Not the one he'd been fighting before but the smaller one. He twisted a knife into the air and drove it down into Mercury's knee.

It screeched against metal and servos. Mercury grunted and twisted free, taking advantage of the brief moment of surprise from the other man. He rolled and flicked himself back onto his feet, stumbling a little as his right leg wavered. The blow to the knee joint would have crippled a normal person, but his prosthetics required that same mobility in the same place. The dagger must have knocked something loose since it wasn't responding as it normally did.

"You creepy-ass bastard," he hissed. "Why don't you say something? You just going to stand there all silent-like?"

The figure didn't respond – not once. He reached down and picked up his dagger, then dove back into the shadows and smoke, vanishing like a ghost.

"Bastard…"

If anything, it was the silence that got to him the most. He was a vocal fighter, teasing and insulting and enjoying the passion of a fight. These guys were as quiet as the grave and that was off-putting. Maybe that was the point.

Now that he'd gotten a moment to breathe he could hear fighting from the other end of the store too. That meant Emerald was still alive, but that she'd run into her own ambush. Good and bad. At least she was still going.

Something whipped towards his face before he could think more on it. He ducked underneath, expecting a knife or explosive, but the book impacted the wall behind him and fell to the floor with a dull thud. A second followed, and this one he knocked away and ran in the direction it had come from.

He almost ran into a knife.

It came for his left eye and straight through a shelf, between some books that had been pushed aside. He was barely able to duck it, and it sketched across his skin, drawing blood for the first second before he could bring his aura to bear and it skittered off his reinforced skin. The arm retracted before he could grab it, but he placed one foot against the shelf and kicked it back.

His opponent dashed aside and away, but Mercury ignored him, turning and spin-kicking another shelf down and away. "You want to hide behind these, then I'll take them away," he yelled. He held one foot out and blasted a shot towards another two, reducing them to broken planks and scattered pages. The floor was slick with them but that would be as much a hindrance for him as the other. It evened the playing field, at least. The smoke was still an issue – especially since they could obviously see through it where he couldn't.

 _They saw Neo through her illusions, too. Some kind of thermal vision? It must be those masks._

If he could reach the windows and shatter them, the smoke would drift away – but that would alert people outside, and Cinder didn't want that. Then again, if people hadn't heard this by now, then they were blind, deaf and deserved to die for their stupidity.

"Emerald!" he yelled "Shoot out the windows!"

"What? But Cinder said-"

"Forget what she said! They set off an explosion. No way this counts as subtle anymore."

Whatever her response was, he didn't catch it. The black-suited bastard came flying back in, swinging one arm wide to bait a feint while he lunged low with his knife. Mercury ignored the arm, wincing as it caught his cheek, and focused on the actual threat. He caught the knife hand by the wrist and twisted it aside. The dagger dropped but the other hand pressed flat against his cheek.

He heard the distinctive piston sound at the last second and jerked his head to the side not a moment too soon. The hook whistled by and impacted a wall, and while it hadn't created a new hole in his head, the rope coiled and whirred as it retracted, throwing him from his feet as the guy on top of him was dragged speedily through the air and away. Mercury landed hard on the floor and rolled over – right as Emerald broke away from her opponent and aimed her handguns towards the windows.

The sound of the glass shattering was cathartic. The shots blasted through the grills too, and true to his expectation there weren't any screams on the other side. People would have run by now. Instead, the smoke started to billow out into the fresh air, dissipating from the shop and slowly revealing the tableau once more.

"Good job, Em," he whispered. "Let's see how these jokers do when we can see as well as them."

She didn't answer, of course. The moment she'd shot out the windows she'd been attacked from behind by her opponent, but he knew she was okay due to the fight continuing. Mercury focused on his opponent instead, who was panting several metres away, now without his black coat and with blood dripping from his left arm.

Heh, so he hadn't totally managed to avoid his shots.

"I guess you're not a ghost after all. Ghosts don't bleed." With a grunt and a whirr from his damaged knee, he stood up and staggered forward. "And I guess if you bleed, then you can die too. Let's test that, shall we?"

Still no response. His cocky smirk faded, and he growled and charged forwards instead. His first kick went high, forcing his opponent down. He blasted a shot up with his extended leg, using the recoil to snap it down in an axe-kick. It struck the top of the man's mask, cracking it slightly and revealing strands of golden hair. The same knife as before came up – this time aiming for his groin, but he was able to flip and bring his own leg up, blocking it with his metal shin. He fired off another shot behind to right himself, the force propelling him back around. His foot sailed into the man's chest and knocked him back against a wall.

The guy rolled to the side off of it, the plaster and brick giving way as dust exploded against it. He kept rolling along the wall as Mercury fired off three quick shots. After the third, the man pushed off and hurled the dagger for his face. He ducked under but was unprepared for the cash register that was thrown a second later. It exploded over his arms in a shower of cheap metal, lien and petty electronics, causing no real damage but obscuring his vision.

When he could see again – the man was gone.

He was good at that. Running away, he meant. Still, there wasn't anywhere to hide now, and the only option was… shit. Mercury spun around and cried out a warning. "Emerald! Watch out!"

/-/

It was his only chance. Jaune heard the warning the moment it was called out, but those few seconds weren't enough for Vanguard's opponent to react. He drove into her back, driving the dagger deep into her flesh. It was a common misconception that aura protected the whole body no matter what, but that wasn't true. Oobleck had drilled it into his head that if he wanted to lessen the impact of a blow, he had to send aura to that location. Most huntsmen and huntresses did it by instinct alone after being trained for so long. It was as natural as tensing when you saw a blow incoming.

That didn't do much for those caught off-guard, however. The dagger bit deep into her lower back, but it didn't penetrate all the way. It went deep enough to bite into muscle before her defences kicked in and her aura prevented it going any further. That was enough, though. He gripped her head and threw her to the side, and she clutched the weapon lodged in her back, struggling to draw it out.

" _Good work,"_ Vanguard panted. _"My aura's all but out. We need to escape."_

He didn't wait for a response but broke and ran for the windows, hurtling his body against and through the grates. Jaune followed, leaving the silver-haired guy behind to deal with his injured partner.

The streets were empty now, though some people with more curiosity than sense watched from windows of buildings nearby. Jaune paid little attention, landing and rolling to his feet before he ran up to Vanguard and helped the man up. He was panting hard and stumbled once, clearly more exhausted than he let on.

"Come on. Let's go. Do you know a direction?"

" _The sewers,_ " he replied. _"Take the sewers. Magician can guide us."_

Jaune nodded and dragged Vanguard along, the two of them crossing the road and hopping over a metal barrier. There was a storm drain nearby and they could get into the sewers from there and then be away. With the area so abandoned, no one would even challenge them, and the sirens of the police sounded all too distant.

On the other side of the barrier, the concrete sloped down into a recess, with a grated tunnel leading down into the dark depths. There was a ladder and access hatch beside it, not to mention a shallow pool one could easily climb out of if you were unfortunate enough to fall in. Jaune placed Vanguard down on the concrete by the side and waded into it, testing the hatch with one hand. It was locked.

He tested the bars on the main drain next, and luckily those were rusted and flimsy, meant more to prevent people getting inside by accident than on purpose. Wedging one foot against a bar, he pulled until it snapped, then did the same with the second, tossing the bars away once he was done. He turned back to Vanguard – but only saw a boot rushing for his face.

"Argh!"

He landed back in the water with a splash. Mercury completed his swing over the top of the drain, landing a few feet in front of him with a wide smile on his face.

"Did you think I'd stop to look after my friend?" he asked. "Ha. Don't make me laugh. Whether she lives or dies, my job is to take you guys out. She'll be fine, or she won't be. Not my problem. Besides, we've got a score to settle, you and I."

Vanguard staggered to his feet behind Mercury.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, big man. Your aura is gone. That much is obvious. Do yourself a favour and back down."

" _Get into the sewer, Rat."_ Vanguard panted.

"W-What?"

" _You heard me. Someone has to take this Intel back to the Director. Names, faces, fighting styles. We have it all."_ He tapped his mask. _"Don't lose it."_

"Wait, Vanguard – stop!"

"I said to stay down!" Mercury roared as Vanguard attacked. He hopped back and kicked out one foot – and a blast of dust fired out of it and impacted Vanguard's stomach. It blasted him back a pace, and to Jaune's horror blood sprayed from the wound. "Ha," Mercury yelled. "No aura at all. Should have stayed down, moron!"

" _You talk too much,"_ Vanguard hissed, his voice pained. He leapt forward and tackled Mercury into the water, hands pushing down on him. His mask, however, stared only at Jaune. _"Remember what I told you earlier, Rat. No one cares who you are or where you came from, only what you do. You're one of us, like it or not."_

"Get off!" Mercury yelled. He slammed a hand into the side of Vanguard's head, and his mask cracked. Not enough to see a face, but enough to see blood drip forth.

No. Not like this. Jaune tried to stand and help, but the deluge tugged at his feet and knocked him back down. He was just as exhausted as Vanguard, if not more so. Still, he gripped one of the bars he'd broken earlier and tried to pull himself forward. If he could just hit Mercury with it. How much aura could the guy have left?

" _Designation 1409,"_ Vanguard gasped. _"Codename: Vanguard. Initiate Winchester protocol. Time: Three seconds."_

Winchester?

"C-Cardin?"

" _Good luck, Jaune,"_ Cardin Winchester panted. _"For the Kingdom of Vale."_

There was an audible click.

The explosion originated from Vanguard and spread out from his very person, or from his suit. The heat from it alone blasted Jaune onto his back, and the force sent the water rushing in his direction, sweeping him up and washing him down into the drain and away with an agonised scream.

He fell for what felt like an eternity – then splashed into thick water with enough force to drive the air from his lungs. More fell from above and forced him down, and it felt like he might drown. Inside his mask, his eyes pricked with tears. He wanted to drown.

" _Oxygen low,"_ a tinny voice recounted. _"Initiating re-breather. Oxygen time; two minutes."_

What a joke. He wouldn't even be afforded that small mercy.

The rush of water battered and forced his body down against the stone floor of the sewer, but also along the channel, away from the point he'd fallen into. As he was swept down it the force relented and he was able to drag himself up to the surface and break through. The sewer water was thick and discoloured, but none penetrated his mask. With a gasp, he pulled himself out and collapsed onto the thin, concrete ledge on either side. He lay on his back, eyes on the ceiling as he tried to catch his breath.

Vanguard…

Cardin…

Just like that…

It didn't seem real. He scrunched his eyes shut against it and screamed at the top of his lungs. The noise didn't even make it past his mask and he tore it off in his fury, letting it slam down onto the concrete as he rubbed the tears from his eyes. It just didn't seem possible. They'd been fine. They'd been investigating a murder and then… and then… He growled and slammed a hand against the sewer wall. Things shouldn't have gone that badly. He should have done something! He should have made things better!

But he was weak... so damned weak!

And Cardin? Of all people? The man he knew by that name was a racist and a bully, ever tormenting the faunus and anyone not strong enough to stand up to him. He wasn't a man who sacrificed his life to save someone weaker. He wasn't someone who would give his life for people who would never know his name, let alone thank him for it. The people of Vale wouldn't even realise his sacrifice – nor would they care if they did.

"Fuck!" he hissed, rolled over and slammed a fist into the floor. "Fuck, fuck, fuck. WHY!?"

"That's what I'd like to know…"

Jaune looked back in time to catch the boot to his chin. He fell back with a cry, staring up through tear-stained eyes into Mercury's. The teen's silver hair was charred, his skin even more so, and one eye was sealed shut – perhaps permanently. His clothing was in tatters too, and his metallic legs were now on full display. He was balanced with one hand on the sewer wall, panting harshly, and in his other hand was a gun.

His eyes said he was all out of mercy and he aimed it at Jaune's face.

"So, you can speak after all. And a crying kid at that. Tch." He spat to the side. "I had all sorts of things I wanted to say before I killed you… but after what that bastard did?" He sagged and clutched at his ribs with his other hand. "I think I'll save myself the hassle and just shoot you."

A gun clicked behind him.

"No," Oobleck said, handgun pressed against the back of Mercury's skull. "I don't think you will."

Oobleck's face was stern, unnaturally so. His eyes were hard and sharp, his brows drawn down. Instead of the VSS' combat uniform he wore a black suit with a white shirt and black tie. His hands were gloved, and his shoes were far too fancy to be down in a sewer among the trash and rats. His frown unrelenting, he looked over Mercury's shoulder, and Jaune shivered at the lifelessness in those eyes.

"Where is Vanguard?" Oobleck asked.

Jaune tried to answer but all he managed was a ragged sob. It was answer enough, and Oobleck let out a long, measured breath.

"That boy was entrusted to me when he was but ten years of age," he recalled. "He was a wild and arrogant young man, but I took him under my wing. He grew into a fine gentleman, even if he didn't always show it."

Mercury's eyes were wide. "I have information!"

"I suppose that should entice me," Oobleck said. "Unfortunately for you, I am quite upset. Do you know why?"

"Is-"

A gunshot echoed through the sewers.

Mercury's body slumped to the floor.

"It was a rhetorical question."

* * *

 **Well, we hardly knew him. That's right, Vanguard – aka Cardin Winchester – is dead, as is Mercury Black.**

 **I feel like I've had people before once complain about Pyrrha being knocked out in Professor Arc by a blow from behind, and that same logic has applied here with Emerald being stabbed. I will say, however, that apparently some of the latest episodes of the show support this. After all, there's apparently a scene where Oscar is learning to fight and expresses surprise that his aura didn't automatically defend him from Ruby's attack.**

 **Ozpin then says something along the lines of aura not being an automatic defence, but one that has to be controlled. It would make sense since by the time the show started, the cast were 17 (apart from Ruby), and sans Jaune had probably all gotten completely used to controlling their aura and making their defences "seem automatic" so long as they could perceive of an attack coming.**

 **I think that they would be susceptible to a complete ambush, however, and that aura likely wouldn't help them if they never saw an attack coming. I'm just throwing this here to answer that possible question people might have. If you disagree, that's cool, but in that case just chalk it up to AU if you have to. I did check Ozpin's speech however, and it did seem to suggest some degree of control is required.**

 **Except for Season 1 Jaune apparently, but hey ho – consistency isn't always RT's biggest strength. I still think it's a good move, though. It prevents characters from essentially being invincible.**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 17** **th** **December**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	21. Chapter 21

**No real notes to put. This chapter is ending an arc, I suppose.**

* * *

 **Cover Art:** Kegi Springfield

 **Chapter 21**

* * *

Jaune stumbled over to a seat in the safehouse and sagged into it, head falling into his hands. Oobleck ignored him and rushed to lock the door, draw shut the blinds and secure the premises. At least in that regard one of them was able to think straight.

"I think we've lost them," he said. "We'll give it some time here and then move back to Beacon. I'll instruct someone to cleanse this safehouse just in case. We can't afford to take any chances. For now, however, we can relax." Oobleck moved over and sat down slowly in a couch opposite him. "How are you feeling, Jaune?"

What a ridiculous question to ask. There were too many answers.

"S-Shouldn't we have captured him alive?"

"In an ideal situation we could have, but that was anything but. Our operatives had just been attacked and had fled into the sewers. We know he gave pursuit but there is no telling how many others might be in the area. Magician kept watch through Vanguard's mask and informed me there was one enemy missing, the short girl with the multi-coloured hair. Had she been following, then attempting to take a prisoner alive would have slowed us down enough for her to catch us. The risks were too great, and even greater if you consider he saw you without you mask, and that he would have seen me had we tried to take him in. We already know who his leader is, that she is working with the White Fang, and that she means ill to Vale."

Oobleck waved a hand dismissively. "What little else he could have told us would only be plans this woman would change should he be captured. To learn that, while considering all the risks involved? It wasn't worth it. Not with you injured and already needing my help."

The man leaned forward and gripped Jaune's face with one hand, thumb below the eye, peeling the skin down while he looked inside. "But let us not hide behind such questions. Vanguard is dead. How do you feel?"

"How do you expect me to feel!?" Jaune yelled, pulling back and slapping Oobleck's hand aside. "Do you expect me to be happy?"

"No."

"Then what? Why even ask?"

"You are angry," he said. "Upset."

Jaune shoved him away with both hands. "No shit. He died in front of me. I couldn't do anything! I just… I just…" His anger faded as quickly as it had come, replaced instead with despair as his face fell into his hands.

"You did not fail," Oobleck said, "however you may be feeling right now. Believe me when I say I have been in your shoes more times than I can count." He sighed. "I realise those words are of no comfort to you right now, but I would have you remember them regardless. What happened here was not your fault, nor Vanguard's. It was the fault of our enemies."

"Cardin," Jaune rasped. "Not Vanguard. Cardin."

"I'm sure he would rather you remember him as Vanguard. Cardin was many things, but the one you knew was a mask and nothing more. As the one who trained him, I can assure you that he would not want you to remember him as a racist and ornery thug. Vanguard was much more than that. He was a man of honour, distinction, but also someone who cared for those under him. Cared a little too much, one might say."

Enough to give his life for one…

Jaune's shoulders began to shake.

"I'm afraid this is going to seem callous, but we can't stay here and we don't have time to grieve." Oobleck hesitated, but pushed on when Jaune made no sound. "I will already be missing from Beacon, and with what will surely come from this, it's important that _you_ be present and accounted for, or at least that you have an alibi. We need to return."

He was right. It did sound callous.

Despite that, the words – utterly devoid of emotion – helped somewhat. Sympathy might have sent him into a fit of crying, and had Oobleck shown his own anguish, it would have probably done the same. As it was, the words pissed him off, but that was better than falling to pieces. He nodded silently.

"We will have a funeral for Vanguard in a few days. You will be invited. Until then, you need to remain strong. If not for yourself, then do it for him. He gave his life so that you could continue yours. Don't let that be wasted."

"I… I understand."

"Not yet, you don't. But in truth I hope you will never have to. Come on." Oobleck placed a hand below Jaune's shoulder and helped him to his feet. Though insistent, his voice was soft and understanding. "Let's return to Beacon. Things will make more sense there."

/-/

"Where is he…?"

Blake checked their dorm for the third time but there was still no sign of him and that wasn't good. She'd caught the news about an explosion in Vale – blamed as a potential terrorist attack – and known instantly that it wasn't. All of this, at a time when her partner just so happened to be on a mission for the VSS? She wasn't buying it.

 _I should have known something was wrong when I saw Oobleck leave like that. He was obviously in a rush._ She bit her lip and let herself back out, rushing toward the Bullhead docks. _Something has happened. I just know it._

She tore out her scroll and brought it to the latest news. An image showed a view of Vale from a Bullhead above, while Lisa Lavender's voice spoke.

" _Vale Police are out in force as the terrorist attack that shook Vale comes to an end. Reports indicate there to be only one fatality, a faunus known locally as Tukson, proprietor of a nearby book store. As of yet, no element has claimed responsibility for the attack, though the Council have tentatively suggested it may be of White Fang origin. Vale News will keep you appraised of any developments in the case, but right now, this is Lisa Lavender signing off."_

The video ended. The name wasn't a familiar one to her, but even if it was she knew the White Fang wouldn't go this far to kill a single person. They'd have done so in private, especially if it were a faunus. Blowing up faunus wouldn't help in the recruitment of more, and she doubted the White Fang would take credit for it.

She rounded the corner and gasped as she ran into a solid chest and bounced back. She would have fallen if not for a pair of hands catching her shoulders.

"S-Sorry," she gasped.

"It's not a problem." The voice made her freeze. Doctor Oobleck stood before her with an amused smile on his face, one that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Where are you going in such a rush, Miss Belladonna? Is something the matter?"

Blake managed a strangled croak. Somewhere inside she knew she needed to say _something_ , and to not act so blatantly suspicious, but her eyes fell to his hands instead and noticed the black gloves he wore. Her eyes widened.

"Miss Belladonna?"

"I-It's nothing, sir. Doctor, I mean."

"You seem to be in quite the rush. Is there anything I can help with?"

"N-No. I was just… I was just trying to escape someone," she lied. "An irritating friend. She's trying to ply me for information on one of my teammates that she likes. I ran away because she was so persistent."

"I see." Oobleck chuckled. "Well, I shall leave you to it then. Have a good day, Miss Belladonna."

"You too, sir." She nodded and watched him step by, only allowing herself to breathe when he was gone. One hand came up before her face and she was annoyed to see it shaking violently. "Calm down," she hissed. "He can't do anything to me here. He doesn't even know."

It had to be the gloves. She and Adam would only wear gloves when they didn't want to leave fingerprints, and that suggested the teacher had been somewhere and done something he didn't want anyone to know about.

What if Jaune…?

No. She couldn't believe that. The corridors rushed by as she sprinted further down the halls in the way he'd come from, checking every nook and cranny for a shock of golden hair. Once she was outside in the gardens between the school and the Bullhead docks, she paused. He had to come back by Bullhead, but if Oobleck was back then that meant he must have already been in Beacon. With that in mind she drew out her scroll and used their team tracker; a device that only worked when people were close and only when they had their scrolls activated.

The blip on the screen gave him away. She tracked it down to Port's classroom – an odd place to be on a weekend, but one that she was sure no one would be going anywhere near. As she pushed open the door and entered, she saw him.

He was huddled in a corner with his legs drawn up to his chest, eyes hidden in his knees. His arms were wrapped about them and although he heard her entrance, he didn't look up. If anything, he drew further in on himself.

It was not a position she'd ever seen him in. Even when he was furious with her and when she'd found out his secret he'd been composed. Frightened yes, but able to look her in the eye and reason. He looked broken now, a remnant of the person he normally was.

"Jaune…?"

He didn't move.

Blake swallowed and stepped a little closer, the door closing softly behind. Emotions had never been her strong point, not in the sense of not feeling them but in knowing what to do when others did. Adam had never been one for them and those members of the White Fang that did usually found solace in their own family and friends.

 _And I suppose I'm that for Jaune… even if we're not quite as trusting as we once were._

"Jaune… it's me, Blake. Is it okay if I come close?" There was no response and she wasn't sure what she would have done if he'd said no anyway. Probably nothing different. She reached out and touched his arm with one hand. He flinched. "Jaune, it's me. You're safe." She hesitated. "What's wrong?"

"N-Nothing," he breathed. His voice was hoarse, uneven, and it was obvious he'd been crying.

"I…" Something told her asking if she were expected to believe that would be a bad idea. "You know that's not true. Something is wrong and… I know we're not as close as we used to be." If they had been at all. "But I _am_ your partner, and… I'd like to think I'm your friend as well. You can talk to me. If you want to, that is." She sat down in front of him on her knees, feet splayed behind her. "You can't stay like this, though. If the others saw you…"

"I know that. Why do you think I'm here?"

"I think you're here because it's your mission not to be suspicious…" She watched him cautiously. "That's all well and good, but what about _you_? You can't focus everything on your job. Didn't Oobleck even say that himself? That you should have a life outside of being a spy?"

"He did, but… but…"

She touched his shoulder with one hand, aware of just how much he was shaking. She didn't say anything, however. She just rested her hand there.

"He's… gone…"

Her eyes narrowed. "Who is gone? I just saw Oobleck a second ago."

"Not Oobleck… he…" Jaune bit his lip.

"Is it someone you're not allowed to tell me about?"

He nodded.

Okay, that made things complicated. Blake sighed and sat beside him so that their shoulders touched. A more forwards person than her might have hugged him, but she wasn't that person and she was fairly sure he'd know how fake it was. If she couldn't know the truth however, then there was little she could do to help him. The only time she'd seen people as bad as him was when someone...

"Jaune," she began warily. "Did someone… die…?"

"Vanguard…"

The word meant little to her. "Is that a person?"

"Vanguard was my… my teammate. We were supposed to investigate something. It was supposed to be easy. We didn't expect anything to happen but… but… they were waiting. We walked right into their ambush."

She had a feeling he wasn't supposed to be telling her these things, but she held off, simply allowing him to speak.

"We were outnumbered and out skilled. No, I was. I was weak and couldn't hold out as well as he could. He fought two while I nearly died to one. We tried to escape – I was so sure we had, but then…" He laughed bitterly. "But then he died."

"How?" Blake asked.

"He killed himself to save me – blew himself up to take out the person attacking us and to let me get away."

"And the person who you were fighting?"

"Dead."

Blake nodded. That was good, but she could see why it didn't make him feel much better. The whole thing was complicated. Jaune alive, but now that she clearly looked he was badly hurt and scuffed, bleeding from one arm and with smudges on his face made worse by his tears. Just the sight of it made her stomach churn and she wished again that she could be a better person for this job. _Pyrrha or Ren would be far better than I, but neither can know thanks to what he is. No one can._

"Did Oobleck just bring you back here?" she asked uselessly.

Jaune nodded. "People would miss us both if we were missing and… after what happened in town, anything suspicious is bad. He needs to be seen. I… I need to be seen."

"Not like this, you don't…"

People would ask questions if they saw him – and they would be the kinds of questions that demanded answers, be they out of concern, compassion or something else. Pyrrha wouldn't let it go, and she doubted Ruby would either.

"Isn't there something he could have done? If anyone sees you like this they'll know something happened."

"I-I'm trying," Jaune sobbed.

Blake's heart twisted. "No, no, I didn't mean it like that! It's not your fault, just… maybe he should have done more to help you. If he needs you to act normal, he should try to make you feel normal. Not just leave you like this…"

Except that even as she said it she could see how difficult that might be. There was no magic wand that could be waved to make him feel better about losing someone… and Gods, now that she thought about it she realised just how much of a shock that must have been for him. _You're not like Adam or I were. You're in much the same business but you're not ready for it._

Oobleck was probably counting on that to be Jaune's excuse. While people would want to know what had upset him, he could make up any story – maybe even that he'd been rejected by someone he had feelings for, or that he'd received news that a beloved family pet had died. It was disgusting, but it would work, and given the fallout they must have been dealing with from the botched mission, making things work was important.

"I don't know what to say," she whispered. She gripped his shoulder a little tighter and tried to impart some of what she felt. Sympathy, understanding, or even just a worthless sense of camaraderie. "I'm here if you need me."

The words felt weak, even to her.

But even if they were, Jaune shifted against her, and before she knew it he'd thrown his arms around her and buried his face into her chest – knocking her to the ground. Her eyes widened, but closed a second later once she heard his violent sobs against her and felt moisture dampen her clothing. His body was wracked with sobs that he kept inside, a hideous and ugly sound of raw grief.

Her hands came around to gently rest on his shoulders, her head tilting back as she let the much taller and heavier man lay practically on top of her, his head in her breasts. To anyone watching it might have seemed a different scene, but watch even a second longer and no misunderstandings could be had. His fingers gripped her shoulders as he cried.

"It's okay," she whispered, coaxing them out. "It'll be okay…"

It wouldn't be. They both knew that.

They just chose to pretend otherwise.

/-/

"Well, looks like we found him." Emerald's nudged her ex-partner's body with one foot, jostling him to the side and spilling a little of his blood on the concrete. Her nose twisted at the unfortunate odour, not just of his death but also of the sewer in general. Up above, sirens continued to wail, but they hadn't found her and even if they discovered and analysed her blood, she was confident it wouldn't be traced back.

Neo stood nearby, arms crossed and an equally displeased look revealed. Her outfit was smudged and burned from the explosion she'd been caught in. She'd come out better than Mercury, at least. Emerald sighed again and thumbed her scroll, waiting for the person on the other side to pick up.

" _Emerald,"_ Cinder's distinctive voice whispered.

"Ma'am," she replied, shifting unhappily. "I… I'm calling to report on the ambush you told us to erect."

" _I'm judging by your tone that it did not go to plan."_

"No, ma'am," she replied. "We… well… Mercury is dead."

A pause, a second's silence.

" _I see. And your opponents?"_

"We think one of them died but it looks like he took himself out with an explosion, injuring Mercury in the process. The other looks to have escaped, though Mercury followed him down into the sewers."

" _Was Mercury killed by the explosion?"_

"No. He was executed with a bullet to the back of the head."

" _How quaint,"_ Cinder chuckled. _"Well, that is a regrettable setback, but nothing we cannot recover from. Is Neo alive?"_

"Alive but a little battered. I took a knife to the back, as well." Emerald winced as she said it, not only from the pulling pain, but also from the knowledge Cinder wouldn't particularly care. If she was alive, that was all that mattered.

True to form, Cinder rolled her eyes. _"I'm sure Roman has someone who can see to that for you. Return here for now and we shall plan our next move. At the very least this suggests our enemy is more organised than we originally believed."_

"Ma'am?"

" _There was a third person, Emerald,"_ Cinder explained with a sigh, as though frustrated to be made to point out something so obvious. _"Unless you would convince me Mercury somehow followed his prey but then allowed an injured opponent to get behind him. No, there was another. They also seem… rather advanced to be mere mercenaries or anti-White Fang elements."_

"I'll say," Emerald grumbled. "They had military-grade gear at least, not to mention a car that exploded remotely, almost taking Neo out in the process."

The multi-coloured girl snarled at the memory and massaged the joint between her neck and shoulder with one hand. She did not look pleased.

" _I see. Not all is lost, then. We have dealt the enemy a blow and narrowed down the possibilities of who it might be. You've done well, Emerald. Return here for now and recover."_

"And Mercury?" Emerald asked, nudging his body once more.

" _Give him whatever send-off you will."_

The scroll flashed off a second later, and Emerald stored it away with a sigh. She hated failure, though not as much as Cinder did. At least in that regard they'd only technically messed things up. It could have been worse. It _was_ worse for Mercury, whose wide eyes stared vacantly up at the ceiling of the sewer above, above which the police continued to scurry.

"Well, it was fun while it lasted, Mercury," Emerald said, placing one foot against his shoulder. "See you around."

He rolled over the ledge and fell into the thick, viscous goop of the sewer, his body sinking beneath it and drifting slowly away. Maybe it would be found after a while, but she doubted it. It would no doubt get caught in something too small for it to pass through, then decompose or be devoured by rats and insects. She gave it a faux-salute as it went. Neo tapped one foot impatiently.

"Yeah, yeah, let's get out of here. I'd kill for a hot bath right now."

/-/

Oobleck's hands twitched a little more than they usually did and there was a full glass of whiskey in front of him as he worked at his desk. Those were the only differences to what might normally have been see as Glynda Goodwitch knocked and entered his office. He looked up to meet her eyes, all the while showing nothing of what he felt inside.

"Glynda. How can I help you?"

"Good evening, Oobleck." She nodded. "Have you heard of what happened in Vale?"

"Some kind of terrorist attack, was it not?" He scratched an X through Ruby Rose's history assignment, or at least the parts of it that were blatantly copied from her sister. "I've heard the news, but it's disjointed as of yet. I'm sure we'll find out more later. Why do you ask?"

"Ozpin is concerned as to what it might mean." Glynda sat down and then glanced to the bottle on his desk. "May I?" He waved his hand, and she poured herself a glass and sipped from it with a sigh. "Thank you. I don't normally drink but times occasionally call for a glass."

"He's working you hard, I take it."

"Unfortunately so. The Council wants Ozpin and Beacon involved in this investigation, though I've no idea why. Meanwhile, much of the paperwork for it is falling into my hands."

"I'm sure that is due to the White Fang influence. The average police officer is hardly equipped to deal with them."

"And students are?"

"No, but Ozpin has influence with many established huntsmen as well, not to mention ourselves and Peter." Or not so much Peter, but everyone else applied. "Given that you interfered to prevent Torchwick's earlier robbery, they've likely decided it best if Beacon gets involved."

"It's my fault, then," she said. "Great. Perhaps I should have stayed out of it."

"And leave Miss Rose to face him alone?"

Glynda sighed. "No, you're right. I could hardly do that." She sipped some more of his expensive whiskey and smiled. "You're surprisingly wise at times, Bart. It's easier to talk to you than Ozpin."

"And Peter, I would imagine."

"Peter is good to talk to, but is not much of a listener." She leaned back. "Ozpin, meanwhile…"

"Trouble in paradise?"

"We are very much not involved, thank you." She shot him a glare. "If he and I spend so much time together, it's only because our positions demand it."

"It was simply a jest."

"Not a very good one." She glared at him for another second but let it go and drank a little more. "No, I can't say Ozpin or the Council are wrong in this, but I'd rather they spend their wealth a little further and bring in some professionals. Relying on us is all well and good, but Torchwick is well aware, or able to find out, when our lesson times are. We're hardly infallible."

"True, true." Oobleck placed down his pen and glanced to his scroll when it beeped. He looked to Glynda, but she waved a hand telling him to go ahead and handle his business. Had it been a call, he wouldn't be able to – not in front of her – but for a simple message there was little problem. He picked it up and glanced at the ID, withholding his reaction when he realised it was the current lord of the Winchester family. The only remaining member of it now.

The message was simple. _"He did what duty demanded."_

The scroll slammed down onto the desk.

Glynda flinched, and regarded his calm expression with one of curiosity. "Not what you wanted to hear?"

"Forgive me," he replied. He drew a deep breath and let it go, and there was nothing but a smile on his face afterwards. "It was simply not the message I wished to receive."

"Oh?"

"An old friend being a fool. Nothing to concern yourself about."

"I know plenty about old friends being fools," she sighed.

"Ironwood?" he prodded. While these little meetings had not been easy to establish, Glynda had proven to be a woman overworked. Not necessarily underpaid, but in need of someone to vent to every now and then. He had been quick to provide that shoulder, and the little information he had gleaned had proven valuable.

"The same. Sometimes I wonder how he could have changed so much in so short a time…"

"Circumstances can do that to a man. Isn't he coming here soon for the Vytal Festival?"

"In a couple of weeks, yes."

"When was the last time you saw him?"

"It must be over a year ago now," she sighed.

That was a lie, of course. He'd watched them meet before term started. Even so, Oobleck nodded and commiserated with his colleague, listening to her vent about an old friend who had once been full of life and cheer, now of efficiency and cold calculations.

 _I know a man like that,_ Oobleck thought, amused by the comparison. He had hardly come out of being made the Director of the VSS without being changed fundamentally. You could only send so many people to their deaths before something shifted inside of you. Vanguard… Cardin… was just another name and face to remember. _I hope you never have to do the same, Rat. I'll try my hardest to give you that small mercy if nothing else._

"I just wish things could be different," Glynda said.

"We all do, Glynda. Believe me."

"I just wonder if I could have done something different…"

"Those thoughts plague us all," Oobleck said, knowing the woman before him had no idea just how close her words cut to the bone. "All we can do is keep moving forwards, however. If you do not have the strength to do so yourself, then find someone who can help and rely on them, if only for a little while."

"Isn't that weakness?" Glynda asked.

"A man with a broken leg is not weak because he relies on a crutch. It is not a replacement for the injured leg, only something to support him until he is strong enough to walk again. We should all be fortunate to have such people who can help us." He reached for the bottle and poured himself a full glass, and then refilled Glynda's. As he held it out to her, his face showed nothing of what he felt inside.

It rarely did anymore.

/-/

"Are you ready?" Blake asked.

Was he? Jaune smiled at her and shook his head, but the two of them were outside their dorm room and he knew it wouldn't get any better. His face was red, his hair lank, and his eyes were rimmed with unmistakeable signs of tears. They'd stopped a while back however, and he knew it would take days for the pain to recede entirely, if it did at all.

"We don't have to if you don't want to," she said.

He appreciated the words, but they were a bit silly. "Where would I go?" he asked. "I think Pyrrha and Ren would have something to say if I vanished for a day or more, let alone the teachers when I don't show up for class." He sighed. "No. I have to do this."

She nodded, and although she didn't say a word it was impossible to miss how close she stood to him, a silent show of support on top of what had already been more than he'd ever expected from her. _She could be taking advantage of you,_ his paranoia whispered. _Don't let your guard down._

He ignored it. If she'd wanted to take advantage, she would have. His guard wasn't down. It was shattered. Or it had been before, but it couldn't afford to be any further.

With a heavy sigh, he reached out and opened the door to their room.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha asked, glancing up. Ren was beside her, the two working on some homework together. The redhead's eyes lit up when she saw him, and she opened her mouth to say something.

She paused. Paused and looked him up and down – truly took him in. Her smile disappeared, and she rose quickly to her feet.

"What happened? What's wrong?"

The immediate concern, honest, blatant, directed purely at him, was almost enough to break his fragile self-control. It would have if he'd come here first, he was sure of it. If Blake hadn't found him and drawn the worst of it out.

"One of Jaune's friends passed away," Blake answered for him, reading his silence and knowing he'd be lost if he tried it himself. When Ren and Pyrrha looked at him to see if it was true, it was all he could do to shrug helplessly. If he'd tried to speak, he knew only a croak would come out.

"Oh, _Jaune_ ," Pyrrha gasped. She closed the distance between them in an instant and wrapped her arms around him.

His breath hitched, but he managed to stay in control. Ren came second, closing the door behind the two of them and placing a comfortable hand on his shoulder. There was nothing but sympathy on his face, and even though he didn't speak, it was enough to show that he would be there if required.

"Was that why you left in such a hurry earlier?" Ren asked cautiously.

"I'm sorry," Jaune croaked, the tears coming forth once more. "I… I…"

"It's fine," he said. "We understand."

"Nora and Ruby wanted to come over earlier," Pyrrha warned.

Ren nodded. "I'll make our excuses. I'll tell them I've come down with something. I won't mention any of this."

Jaune nodded his thanks.

Pyrrha drew him down so that they were both sat on his bed, her with her hands behind his head, Blake stood nearby, unsure but imposing and defensive in her own right, and Ren on his scroll, blatantly lying to his childhood friend in order to protect his teammate's fragile state of mind.

"Thank you," he whispered.

Pyrrha heard. She smiled.

"What are friends for?"

/-/

A girl sat on the edge of a cliff, feet dangling over the edge and looking down onto the vast expanse of the Emerald Forest. It was like an ocean of green that spread out before her, filled with Grimm and other such terrible monsters. She swung her legs again but did not take the plunge. It wouldn't have meant anything more than a rough landing and a frustrating climb, anyway. Instead she watched the sun set and sighed as grass behind her crunched, indicating a visitor.

The figure came to a stop several feet away and did not come closer. That was for the best. She was liable to lash out as it was.

"I heard about Vanguard," the feminine voice said.

The girl shrugged one shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Magician. He died a good death."

"Is any death good?" Magician asked.

"A death that accomplishes its objective is. He chose to take it in exchange for an outcome he desired. That the outcome came to pass is proof his end wasn't in vain. The Director avenged him."

"Vanguard won't be avenged until the monsters that did this are _dead_ ," she hissed.

The other behind her did not disagree. "What will you do, then?" she asked. "Will you hunt them down and risk your own life?"

"Did the Director ask you to speak with me? Am I that predictable now?"

"No… at least to the former." The girl behind her chuckled, but there was no humour in it. "I'd think it obvious you'd be upset if this happened. I came of my own choice. Vanguard _will_ be avenged, but only if you don't do anything foolish."

"I won't," Magician growled. "I'm not an idiot."

"I never said you were. You and he were close, however."

"Close enough that I wouldn't make his sacrifice pointless by getting myself killed," she replied. "I won't imperil the investigation, you can trust me on that. If I did, I'd only be giving those monsters a chance to escape."

"I'm glad to see you understand." The figure took another two steps, and a hand fell on her shoulder, squeezing it tightly. "We _will_ avenge him, Magician. I promise you that. But we won't do it by running off half-cocked and letting them take more people away from us."

Magician nodded.

"I understand. Are you entering the fold once more…?"

"No. The Director has me working on something else. I just stopped by to make sure you were doing okay." The hand released her, and the girl stepped back. "I'll see you around, Magician. Don't worry. When push comes to shove, I'll be there to kick some ass alongside you."

Magician nodded, keeping her eyes fixed on the setting sun as the other Agent departed. Once she was alone, she let out a long sigh and drew her knees up to her chest, resting her chin atop them.

"Cardin…"

/-/

"He's still not answering?"

"No." Russel put his scroll away and slumped on his bed. "I'm worried, man."

"We all are," Sky said, sitting next to him. "Chill, though. It's Cardin. The big guy will be fine, I tell ya. I bet he's busy with some hot babe in Vale as we speak. You know how he is. He'll saunter in tomorrow with a big-ass smile on his face."

Russel smiled, but it was strained.

"It's just not like him, you know…" He sighed. "Maybe I'm over-reacting."

"You are, Russ," Dove said. He'd been pacing too, but now wore a confident grin. "Mark my words, he'll be banging on the door come morning. Have a little faith in him. He's our team leader for a reason. Heh, when he hears about how you worried like an old hen, he's gonna tear a strip out of your hide."

Russel laughed.

"Yeah, he probably will." He tried one last time but when Cardin didn't answer, put his scroll on the bedside table. "Think we should lock the door and pretend to be asleep just to teach him a lesson?"

"And deal with the training he'll put us through in return?" Dove barked a laugh. "No thanks."

"Pussy."

As Dove and Sky bickered and laughed, Russel shot one last look towards the door and sighed. The guys were right. He was freaking out over nothing. Cardin would come roaring back in the morning and everything would be back to normal.

He was sure of it.

* * *

 **Well, it's a bit of a reactionary chapter, obviously. People have to lick their wounds, and this is more to show what happened and what didn't happen since a lot of people wondered if Oobleck had Neo or Emerald prisoner. The answer, obviously, is no. I also wanted to show the vast difference in how everyone reacts to the death of one of their own, not just in terms of Oobleck, Jaune and Magician – but Emerald, too.**

 **And no, they didn't take Mercury prisoner anyway. As Oobleck said, it would have been great in an ideal world, but they had a split-second to make a decision and he and Jaune are basically stuck in the sewers directly where the enemy are, with Jaune injured and clearly needing help to escape, and Oobleck needing to make a choice between help Jaune or take a prisoner, knowing the latter will slow them down and give the enemy a chance to catch up.**

 **So yeah, it would have been the best choice to take him prisoner, but it just wasn't an option.**

 **And you know what, I said I wouldn't and I'm not going to say who the pairing of this story is, but I'll say who it's** _ **not**_ **, if only because I've been getting** _ **constant**_ **messages whining about it. It's NOT Blake x Jaune. I know there is still a whole host of people going "Oh, Coeur always writes Blake x Jaune and this is the same. I mean look, the two are** _ **talking**_ **and in this chapter Jaune just wept on her. That's** _ **clear**_ **romance.** _ **Nothing**_ **is more romantic than crying and dribbling snot all over a girl. NOTHING!"**

 **Well, sorry to excite but this isn't a Blake x Jaune story.**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 24** **th** **December**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	22. Chapter 22

**Technically my last chapter of 2017. Let's all hope for a good year coming! Also not sure if it's me or not, but it took me a lot of attempts to upload this. The site kept kicking me off for server errors or something. Sheesh.**

* * *

 **Cover Art:** Kegi Springfield

 **Chapter 22**

* * *

"The rumours are true, then."

"Hm?"

"Cardin Winchester has gone missing. His team is an uproar. Even the teachers are in a panic."

"What do you think happened?"

"Grimm, maybe? You never expect it… not so close…"

Blake turned away from the gossiping students and hugged her books against her chest, speeding up to catch her partner as they filed out of another one of Professor Port's lessons. It should have been a dull and boring one as usual, but for the unusually focused expression on the man's face as he asked them all if any had seen Mr Winchester recently, and to report to him instantly if they did. Even his tales lacked their usual boastful vigour, falling flat and stale on the air.

Port was upset or worried about something – likely the missing student. She hadn't failed to note that Team CRDL were nowhere to be seen, and that Port didn't seem surprised by that fact.

Everyone else had, naturally.

Or almost everyone, at least.

Seeing as it was their last session for the day it was expected that their team might split off, Ren to satisfy Nora's demands for his presence and Pyrrha to accompany him and chat with Weiss and Ruby. No one ever expected her or Jaune to take part, and they certainly wouldn't ask him to after his display the night before. If he wanted to be alone then they'd assume it was so that he could deal with his grief in peace. She knew better, which was why she pushed though the crowds and kept her partner's back in view.

She wondered if he'd noticed. Given his position and job one would think so, but as little as he told her she'd still managed to figure some things out. Jaune was a spy, sure, but he wasn't an overly good one. His response to death showed he hadn't seen it before, which probably meant he was new to the job, and since he still needed her help in training to improve she could assume he hadn't been trained physically quite as much as might have been expected of a secret agent. He was either new to the job, inexperienced… or playing her perfectly.

 _If it's the latter then there's nothing I can do,_ she thought. _I'll trust my instincts on the former._

His back was stiff and his pace a little too fast, all clear signs that he wasn't in the best of moods. As such she waited until he was outside and they were alone before she showed herself, and she made sure to do it with a soft cough so he wouldn't be surprised.

"Blake?" he asked without turning.

"It's me," she said. She strode up to stand beside him. "How are you holding up?"

"Better. I… I should apologise for yesterday, for crying…" He gestured uselessly to her chest. "That couldn't have been easy for you to deal with. Yeah… sorry…"

"It's fine. Not something I'm used to," she added with a coy smirk, "but I understand why you needed it. Don't worry. I won't tell anyone."

"I'm not normally like that."

"We don't normally lose people so suddenly."

He sighed. "Yeah…"

Jaune sobbing on her had been a strange and awkward thing, and she hadn't really known what to do, but she could hardly begrudge him it. Maybe if she'd been like that to Adam, he wouldn't have become what he was today. Maybe… there was still a marked difference between Jaune and Adam, even if both might be walking a fine line. Jaune had technically already sacrificed that Atlesian girl for the betterment of Vale. One step too far might change him entirely.

But maybe she could stop that happening, this time. Or at the very least she could see it and do something before it was too late. She wouldn't let her second partner become as the first.

"It looks like the teachers are worried about Cardin. He's gone missing. His team have rushed into Vale to try and find him" She watched Jaune's expression keenly. "They're not going to find him… are they?"

"I couldn't say."

Blake nodded, taking the words for the confirmation they were. Cardin Winchester… who would have ever thought it. She'd only known the man as a braggart, bully and racist, but considering Jaune's reaction it looked like there was much more to the man. For that alone, she'd hold her tongue and respect him.

"Do you want to work on your swordplay? It might help to take your mind off things."

"Can't. I have an… appointment to keep."

"Another business meeting, or is this one with your… _other_ friends?"

"Neither. It's a funeral."

Her eyes closed softly, a breath of air escaping her lips as she allowed her hand to brush against his in what she hoped he would see as a gesture of support. If she could have she might have offered to go with him, but that was out of the question.

"I'll keep the others distracted," she promised instead. "Go say goodbye. I'll handle things here."

"Thanks. I… I appreciate it."

/-/

The coffin was a closed one. It might even have been an empty one. It was jet black and sealed with no seams or method of opening, the symbol of Vale emblazoned in silver on its top but no name with which to identify the person within. It was nondescript yet also clearly expensive and meant for someone of great honour and distinction. In a thousand years' time archaeologists might discover it and wonder who the beloved hero inside was. But they would never know, and that was the world in which they lived.

Oobleck had given him a crash course on what a funeral within the VSS entailed. It was a strange, traditional and symbolic thing in which they all wore their masks, not only a nod to the necessity of preserving their identities, but also as a mark of respect and a way to show that you understood the masked man or woman in the casket was the same as you. No one spoke, not even through the transmitters within their masks, and there were more agents than Jaune had ever seen before crowded about the dark room deep in the basement of the VSS' main building.

There were twelve or so in total, of varying sizes and shapes, some obviously female and others male. All were masked and disguised and it was only Magician who he recognised, or rather she and Oobleck, who stood behind with one hand on his shoulder. When he made to move towards Magician, Oobleck held him back and shook his head.

Of course… she probably wanted some time alone with Vanguard, Cardin, even if she couldn't speak. He watched as her gloved hand traced across the ceramic coffin and he wondered what message she whispered to him in her mind.

He'd been told he would have the chance, as well. No speeches were given at these funerals, at least not once the tradition began, but the name of the individual – their codename, that was – would be inscribed into an old and weathered tome, signifying their ascension into legend. He had privately been amazed how thick and old it was, testament to how long the VSS had been protecting Vale. Once the inscription was done the guests – those who knew and had relations with the deceased – would be able to touch the coffin and pass on a message. Had Vanguard still… been in one piece, the coffin would have been open and his masked face free to touch.

It was not so, and it was all Magician could do to rest her hand atop the cold, impersonal coffin. Once she was done, Oobleck nudged him forward, and the two stepped up to take her place. Up close, the coffin was larger than expected and seemed an imposing thing. Jaune swallowed and touched his fingers to it.

He'd thought long and hard on what final message he wanted to impart, but as usual his mind had run dry. There was a lot he wanted to say and tell Cardin, but nothing that felt suitable now. Nothing that had the gravity of what was probably expected.

 _I'm sorry, Cardin. If I was stronger this might not have happened, but I wasn't. I promise I'll get stronger to make sure no one else has to sacrifice themselves, and I'll also look after Magician as best I can for you._ He sighed and pressed the palm of his hand against the coffin, feeling the cool material through his gloves. _I'll also look after your team for you. I'll make sure nothing bad happens to them, and I'll bring the person responsible for this to justice._

The message felt cold and impersonal. He wished he could have had something better, something more emotional or meaningful. As it was, he let his hand fall and looked to Oobleck, who had one hand atop the coffin. His body was still.

He wondered what message the Director imparted… whether it was congratulatory, upset, emotional or simple a fond and bitter farewell. With the mask between their faces it was all but impossible to tell. After a minute, the taller man let go entirely and looked to Jaune. The two shared a nod, and he was soon led away, replaced by another who stopped to pass on their final message.

It carried on like that for some time. No one took too long but those that did were afforded the time and respect, as everyone else ringed the room, standing in position until all had finished and the coffin remained alone in the centre. At that point four torches were lit and placed on either side, and he'd been told the body would remain there in vigil for 48 hours before it was interred in the vaults beneath the building.

As they filed outside and people began to disperse, Oobleck dragged him aside and tapped the side of his mask, signalling for them to enable the speakers.

"It's permissible for us to speak now," he said. "I understand our funeral rites may seem odd for you but it's something that has been passed down through generations and every aspect has its own symbolism."

"Is that what I can expect if I die?"

"If you don't leave any other instructions, yes. Some want to be returned to their families, who might not yet know of what it is their family do. In your case, were you to die and wanted to be reunited with them, we would create a factitious death for you and contact them. They could then hold their own funeral for you." Oobleck sighed and glanced back to the room they'd left. "This is what Vanguard wanted, however. He specifically asked for it. It was the least I could do."

Jaune nodded, pleased that Cardin had at least gotten that kindness, even if his body might not be within the coffin. He could have asked but didn't want to. He didn't like the idea of being told Oobleck had gone back for chunks, or that there might have been none to collect at all.

"If I wanted something specific…"

"You can tell me now," Oobleck said. "I'll put it into the database tonight and you can rest assured your wishes will be honoured no matter what they are. We do not begrudge the fallen their final rites."

"I want a funeral…" It sounded strange to be discussing his death, especially at seventeen, but Cardin had certainly had the foresight to do so and that proved prudent. "I'd want my family to be there, but also my team from Beacon. And… if possible… I'd like a good death."

"Anyone who dies in the line of duty is a hero, Rat. If that so happens to be you, I shall personally ensure your story is a heroic one. I'll have it so that you gave your life protecting innocents so that they could escape the Grimm, or something along those lines."

He nodded, grateful. "Thank you…"

"Let's not talk of such things any further," Oobleck suggested, placing a hand on his back and leading him away. "Vanguard's departure was unexpected and cruel, but he gave his life so that you could keep yours. He would be upset to know you spent it being miserable or considering your own end. Besides, there was something I wanted to speak with you about."

Oobleck led him through several corridors and out of the basement, where ancient architecture and stone pillars gave way to offices, plastered walls and people working in cubicles. They took an elevator up twenty-five floors, then crossed an office to another, which only Oobleck could access using a four-digit code inputted too fast to make out.

As the new elevator ascended, Jaune slowly started to recognise the scenery.

"We're heading to your office, aren't we?"

"Where it all began, or at least for you. It's been a while since you've been here."

"And you as well," Jaune added as the doors opening. The proof was in the light sheen of dust atop the wooden desk.

Oobleck sighed as he sat down and blew some aside. "I did ask the cleaner to keep an eye on it. What a bother." He reached down into his cabinet. "Bourbon?"

"It might be hard with the mask."

Oobleck reached both hands up to his, slowly releasing it with a hiss of air. His face was haggard when it was revealed, and without glasses, which he picked a pair from one of his drawers and placed on his nose.

"We're safe here, Jaune. You can unmask if you wish." He smiled and held out a glass. "Bourbon?"

"Please," Jaune accepted, placing his own mask down. His eyes were ringed with red and he both looked and felt a little older. Oobleck didn't comment on it, however. He poured two glasses of the amber liquid and pushed one towards the younger man.

"To Vanguard," Oobleck said, holding his out.

"To Vanguard," Jaune echoed. "Cheers."

The bourbon was as good as ever, rich and hot as it slipped down his throat. He'd never had alcohol before meeting Oobleck, but he'd already developed a liking for it, or at least for the effect it had on dulling his emotions. It might have been useful the day before, but Blake had helped in that regard, as had Pyrrha and Ren later.

"How are you coping with what happened?" Oobleck asked. "I wish I could have done more for you yesterday, but my absence would surely have been noticed."

"It's fine. I understand." They all had a part to play. "My team helped me out. I told them someone back home had died and they all chipped in to make me feel better."

Oobleck smiled. "I'm glad. It will do you good to have such loyal friends."

"I don't really want them involved with this…"

"That's not how I meant it. You'll remember that I insisted you keep your team separate from your job and that remains to this day. Our work is hard and exhausting, and we can't always take the time to relax as we ought to. Having someone to come home to, people to lean on, and friends to support you, are all deeply important. Perhaps even more so than your work ethic, skill or any other quality you can bring to this job."

Jaune nodded. Oobleck still didn't seem to know about Blake and that was a relief. "I'm guessing you didn't bring me here to talk about my team."

"Not specifically, though they factor into the matter somewhat. I wanted to debrief you."

"Wouldn't that normally be done _after_ a mission?" His eyes narrowed. "You're not taking me off this, are you?"

"No."

"Then why now?"

"Because I want to give you a choice as to whether you wish to continue or not. When we initially hired you, our goal was to have you investigate Ozpin and Beacon. This matter with Roman and his allies was a side project, but it has overtaken our time of late. I'm not sure what, if any, work we've done on discovering Miss Rose's purpose in Beacon, or yours. I'm giving you a chance to focus back on that."

"What about Cinder Fall?"

"There are other Agents who can focus on her. I'm merely making you the offer."

An offer, huh? It was an attractive one, that was for sure. His dream had always been to join Beacon and become a huntsman, but it went deeper than that and he could admit it now. His dream hadn't been to actually _be_ a huntsman. It had been to be _someone_. Anyone. It had been to have some kind of meaning in a world where he felt he didn't have any, be that because of his sisters doing everything better or life just not giving him any free rides. The actual reality of the job, what it meant, and what he'd have to do…? That hadn't even crossed his mind. It was all just that heady promise of being a hero.

There was a hero laying in a coffin twenty-five levels below this one, and the last thing he wanted was to join him. He didn't think he was a coward. He just didn't want to die. Was that really so bad?

"What would my mission be?" he asked.

"Stay in Beacon. Keep an eye on Ruby Rose, and try to ingratiate yourself to Ozpin. No stolen Paladins. No Torchwick. No Cinder Fall."

"But no justice for Cardin."

"We will bring his killers to justice. It will simply be done without you."

Oobleck made it sound so easy. It wasn't. He was John White, the only one to have access to Roman's trust at the moment, and the only one likely to keep it after the recent happenings. Cinder would be suspicious of any new additions from now on. That could all be none of his business if he wished it.

Jaune reached out for the bourbon and poured himself a glass. Slowly, he brought it to his lips and sipped. He let out a pleased sigh and clinked it down onto the table.

"I'll stay where I am, thanks."

"Are you sure?" Oobleck asked. "This is the last chance you will ever have. To continue now will mean being a part of an operation you cannot leave. To attempt to do so is to forfeit your life."

"It's that serious?"

"We are entering a period of national emergency, Mr Arc. Though the populace does not yet know it."

His last chance. Cardin had died to give him his life… but it was his choice on how to use it, and he'd made a promise. "I'm in," he said. "The VSS still needs John White. I can't back out now."

"This will mean you'll need to balance both the investigation here _and_ your one in Beacon. You previously asked for a break because you couldn't manage it."

"I was new to the job back then. If I backed out now, I'd just be thinking about it at every opportunity." He grinned with a confidence he didn't really feel. Even so, he was sure the decision was the right one. "I'm a part of this, Oobleck. That's what Cardin told me before he died."

"And are you willing to make the same sacrifice he did? The risks will be even greater. Are you prepared to die?"

"No."

Oobleck looked surprised.

"I'm not prepared to die. Not willing, either." He placed his hands on the table and leaned forwards. "So, how about we get this right on the first try so that I don't have to."

/-/

"John."

Roman met him at the door with a nod of his head and a puff of smoke. The thief looked him up and down, though for what he had no idea. He didn't look worried or concerned, at least not in the sense that might have been expected after Mercury's death. Then again it was possible he was just hiding it to see what his underling's reaction would be.

But John White didn't _know_ about Mercury, Emerald or Neo – and so simply nodded back.

"Mr Torchwick," he said, checking the streets around them nervously. "Is this the place?"

"Be embarrassing if I'd called you to the wrong place, and it's Roman. None of that `mister` nonsense. You needn't look so nervous either. The people around here know better than to welch on what they see."

"Even so, I'd like to get out of the open."

Roman raised an eyebrow. "Any reason you're so nervous?"

"I've not heard anything about the docks," Jaune said. "Still waiting for that to drop on my head. It's hard enough walking past police without being afraid one will cuff me."

John White the amateur, John White the easily-impressionable teenager in over his head. Oobleck had impressed upon him the importance of that, and of acting _exactly_ as Roman expected him to. Knowledge about Cinder, Mercury or Neo was to be ignored. They did not exist. All that existed was a young man working for a big-time criminal, and feeling nervous about where it might lead.

"Sheesh, the docks." Roman flicked his cigar away. "I'd almost forgotten about that. Had other things on my mind. Kind of why I called you here tonight."

"Another heist?" Jaune asked.

"Cool your horses, kid. Not yet. Here, come on in." He opened the door to what was a ratty bar cum restaurant. It was empty of any custom and the man behind the bar pointedly kept his eyes to the floor as he nodded for Roman to enter the backroom.

The corridor it led to was as dark and dinghy as any other, but Roman seemed to know the way and they were soon before another door. This time however, Roman paused and pulled Jaune to the side.

"Look kid, I'm going to give you the heads up. My employers in there; you've met her before. Do not cause a scene. Got it?"

"The woman from the warehouse? Didn't you tell me not to get involved with her?"

"I did, but things don't always play out. She wants you involved, and that means you're getting an opportunity. That's all you're getting, though," he warned. "Don't mess it up and don't get ahead of yourself. You're a good prospect but you're not important enough for me to stick my neck out for. Do something to piss her off and you're on your own."

"G-Got it, sir."

"Excuse me?"

"Roman," he amended, laughing nervously. "Sorry. I forgot."

"Yeah well, it's fine. You ready, kid?"

No, not really. Jaune Arc wasn't, but John White didn't have any idea how dangerous this woman was, so he nodded his head and said, "Sure. How hard can it be?"

The room was not quite as empty, quiet or dark as he'd expected. In his head he'd imagined complete darkness, followed by a flicker of light as a torch shone on him – but this wasn't the interrogation room of the VSS, and Cinder was sat on a couch, legs crossed, as she talked to one of Junior's men, a bearded brown-haired man in a fine suit. There were several other people around as well, though he noted Neo was nowhere to be seen, nor was the green-haired girl he'd stabbed.

Cinder looked up when she noticed them and smiled beautifully. She reached out one hand and beckoned for them, or maybe just Roman, to approach. They did, and sat down on the plush, maroon couches.

"Drink?" Cinder offered, one hand on the neck of a bottle of red wine.

 _What happens if she knows who I am,_ he recalled asking Oobleck. _What do I do if she already knows I'm the rat and tries to kill me?_

" _I'll not lie to you, Jaune. If that happens… you'll die."_

The wine could be poisoned, or the act of offering his glass might be the invitation for the first attack. Roman had a good position beside him and he'd be open when he leaned forward, meanwhile he was surrounded on all sides and her abilities were still unknown.

"Thank you," he said, leaning forward to accept. It was what was expected of him, and like Oobleck had said, if they wanted him dead, he was already gone. Poison wouldn't matter. He could only hope and rely on the fact that Tukson had been the one to be killed – and that he was ex-White Fang – to convince her the leak in their operations was in their allies, not their own circle.

"You must be wondering why it is I've asked to meet you." Cinder finished pouring the drink and then did the same to her own. They each leaned back, and she smiled when he drank first, a clear sign of trust, stupidity or just of having no self-preservation.

Or preparation, of course. He had an all-purpose anti-venom taped to the top of his mouth.

"I didn't even realise it _was_ you," he said honestly. "Roman just told me to come here. I thought we were going on another heist or something."

"Oh?" She glanced to Roman.

"I thought it safer this way," the thief said, unapologetic.

"A wise precaution. You came anyway, John."

"Roman's my boss." Not you, it went implicitly said. "He calls. I do what he says."

"How very loyal…"

He wasn't at all, but they knew that; it was practically expected. As far as they were concerned he was no better than a mercenary, albeit one who was employed by Roman. Oobleck had warned him to make that clear, specifically not to appear _too_ eager to work for Cinder. There was no telling if she would want him at all and there was no need to burn any bridges. If she needed people to help her, she'd have a lot to call from, Roman included. John White was pretty far down that list, but he could work his way up it in time.

"Tell me, John. Roman says you have some limited training, not to mention your aura. How did that come about?"

"I wanted to be a huntsman. I didn't go to a prep school, but I paid for some training when I was younger. It wasn't really enough, though."

"You didn't make it into Beacon?"

"I wasn't even considered."

"And you use a knife, I believe."

"Yeah. It's cheap and simple."

"May I see it?"

A thrill of fear ran through him but he shrugged and drew the weapon, then placed it down on the table and pushed it towards Cinder. The motion was designed to make it obvious he didn't mean to be threatening, but she didn't move a muscle either way. She was clearly confident she could kill him if she had to. Was that bravado, however? Or was it fact?

"Simple is one way of putting it," she said, turning the weapon over in her hand. "There's no mecha-shift. No dust capabilities."

"It's just a knife."

She smiled condescendingly. "Most huntsmen have more versatile weapons."

"Yeah, but those cost a lot and I couldn't afford one. I needed the money for other things… and when I didn't make it into Beacon, I suddenly had to pay for rent and food as well. I'm not exactly in a good position to commission a proper weapon."

"Hence your decision to join Roman, I presume."

Jaune nodded with a sigh. The story wasn't an old or new one, especially considering the fame of Beacon and the harsh reality of limited places and a world of bloody evolution. Those who were weak were culled from the herd. In all honesty he should have been as well, but Ozpin had seen some reason to accept what was clearly a fake transcript. _I still need to figure out what that is,_ he thought. He didn't like the idea of not knowing why someone was watching him.

"It's a simple thing," Cinder said, placing it down and flicking it back to his side of the table. "I suppose there is something to admire in that, however. Easily replaced. No connections. No cost. It's a use and forget weapon, and something that can't be traced back to you."

"I'd like to say that's the idea, but it's more the cheap thing," he laughed. She laughed with him, even if he was fairly sure it was fake on her part. Roman, at least, seemed to not be overly concerned with how the meeting was going. He obviously thought Cinder was getting the better of his little protégé, but that was to be expected.

"You also worked on the mission with Roman and the White Fang."

"The heist at the docks? Yeah, I did."

"What did you think of them?"

"Honestly…" Jaune paused to look at Roman, who nodded back to Cinder.

"You can be honest," she said. "I'll not respond badly to a question I desire an answer to." She smiled pleasantly, but he knew it was nonsense. She'd react however she wanted to, and this was clearly a test of some kind.

Still, he gave the only answer he realistically could.

"I thought they were pretty useless, to be honest. Roman and I had to do just about everything, and we only even got away alive because of Roman's pilot and Neo. I'm not even sure what they did at all other than mill around."

"And take up Bullhead space," Roman added with a chuckle. "Don't forget that."

"Yeah. They were… uh… kind of a non-factor."

Roman laughed and crossed his arms, apparently pleased to have someone agreeing with him for once. He had the suspicion this was an old argument between the two, and that Roman had been pushing their uselessness for a while.

"I see." Cinder's smile remained, though little else could be seen. She leaned back, uncrossed her legs, and then crossed them the other way. She also smirked at him when she caught him looking and he glanced away. "Well, it's certainly a shame they didn't perform to expectations, but we _are_ working with amateurs when it comes to them. Tell me, John. What did you think of their professionalism?"

"What professionalism?"

Roman stifled another laugh.

"I mean their candour, John. Do you believe they would be capable of keeping their actions secret, or do you expect they would tell others about what they'd just done?"

The spy. She was digging for the spy. Jaune's mouth was dry but he forced himself not to show any visible reaction. It was hard, but he managed it. Oobleck had drilled into his head what the wrong and right responses were, and this was one of them. He couldn't afford to push Cinder or Roman in any direction. The second they thought he was, he was dead. Every decision they made had to be their own. He was a follower. Nothing more.

"I hadn't thought of it," he said, eyes narrowing. "I mean, I'm fairly sure Roman told them to keep quiet, but they're terrorists. It's not normally what they do. I don't know for sure since I don't know them, so I don't think I can really judge them or not."

"A cautious answer, almost political."

"If I can be honest, I just don't want to say something that'll anger you."

Cinder's smile was definitely an amused one. "Ah, and some wisdom hidden underneath as well. I can respect that. Very well. I won't force the issue. Roman," she looked to the thief. "What are your thoughts?"

"They can't be trusted. Like the kid says, they're not professionals. They can be trusted to risk their lives because it's in their best interests, but I can guarantee you the idiots went to the nearest bar and started boasting about what they just did. All it takes is one faunus not quite a sympathiser, and the authorities know all about it." He slammed a foot against the table angrily and bit down on a cigar. "That's how you end up in situations like this. We should lump the idiots and leave them."

"We can't afford to, Roman. You know this."

"Then at least give them the jobs we don't care about."

"That," she said, "I can do. It seems like there might be more leaks to investigate, and the source of that is obvious enough. The only ones who could have known about Tukson were his fellow White Fang members."

The final test.

"Tukson?" Jaune asked.

"No one you need to worry yourself about," Cinder smiled. "Have a little more wine. In fact, how about we discuss something more exciting." She leaned forward, revealing a hint of her cleavage while she served him a glass. "Roman is working for me, which means he does what I pay him. I have a little job I need handled, and he's said nothing but good things about you. What do you say about doing a little job for me?"

There were a thousand things he wanted to say – but John wasn't Jaune and he only had the one.

"If Roman's okay with it, then sure."

"Perfect. I think we'll get along splendidly."

/-/

In a dark room, a monitor blurred to life, revealing a blurred individual on the other end. As he appeared, the single figure in the room fell to a kneeling position, head tipped down towards the ground.

"You are safe?" the figure on the screen asked.

"The area is secure."

"Good. You are aware of events in Vale, I take it?"

"The stolen Paladin has not yet been recovered."

"The VSS assured us it would be so. It seems this is a matter too complex for them."

"Or they have requisitioned it for their own use.

"Such comments are dangerous."

"I apologise."

"I did not ask for an apology," the man in the screen said. "You are not wrong. Even so, what is and what is said remain two different things. Remember that."

"I will."

"Events in Vale have become complicated of late. The White Fang have been seen there. This is troublesome with the events which will come. The Vytal Festival is scant months away. Vale must be secure for that event."

"Perhaps they will cancel it for safety."

"You know as well as I that will not happen. Cannot happen. A disaster at the event would be seen as a tragedy. Cancelling it would be a sign of weakness. One of these, the Council of Vale can spin to their advantage. The other, they cannot."

"You believe the White Fang have the Paladin?"

"I believe it is possible. That would be… bad for our reputation."

"Your orders?"

"General James Ironwood will be making his way to Vale in the coming days. He will be taking several individuals with him, including one VIP of importance to the Kingdom. You are to ensure you are on that ship, and to make contact with our friends in Vale when you land."

"I am to help them recover the Paladin?"

"No. You are to recover the Paladin."

The orders were similar, but not identical. That was important.

"I understand, Grandmaster. Should I render assistance to the local elements if they require it?"

"So long as it does not impact your primary objective, you may do as you wish. There is a secondary objective, however. Do not allow any harm to befall the VIP. If it should, the consequences would be felt across the Kingdom."

"Understood."

"Atlas demands this be done."

The kneeling figure raised their head, revealing a pristine white mask and grey-white body armour. "Atlas demands and we obey," the figure intoned. "I shall see it done, Grandmaster. The Paladin shall be reclaimed."

As the device winked off, the figure rose and dusted itself down. A journey to Vale and an international mission. Interesting. It had been a while since the ASF had operated out of their territory.

It would be good to see how much things had changed.

* * *

 **And there we go. I know a lot of people saw John trying to fit into Cinder's circle coming, but she isn't going to make it that easy. Meanwhile, the distractions from the Paladin mission have reached the ASF, which ought to complicate matters. If the chapter is short, it's because the date is a little... well, it's Christmas Eve, lol. Merry Christmas to all, since I won't be doing anything writing related for it this year, but that's not out of spite - just exhaustion, lol. I always used to do a Christmas special in the past but that was before I went to 5 fics a week.**

 **Yeah, it's hard work, but I don't regret it. It's one of those things which felt impossible at first, as in literally impossible. Amazingly, however, I've managed to pull through and keep it up, and I don't think that's "miraculous" on my part. I think it's just a sign of how much one can accomplish if you pretty much push yourself to the limit. I wouldn't always call it healthy, but it can be fulfilling.**

 **Thanks to all - have a Merry Christmas, and I'll see you all in 2018!**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 7** **th** **January (Two Weeks - Due to my week of rest)**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	23. Chapter 23

**Argh, busy weekend is busy. Here we go with the next chapter, next arc and such.**

* * *

 **Cover Art:** Kegi Springfield

 **Chapter 23**

* * *

"Ugh, my head hurts."

Ruby pressed the palm of her hand against her forehead and swayed dramatically as she left the classroom. It was bad enough that she was coming out of class, but particularly because it was seven in the evening and there _wasn't_ any class. Just another one of her catch-up sessions with Prof- Doctor Oobleck.

Well, at least she didn't have to do them alone. Jaune chuckled as he followed her with a textbook slung under one arm. The day's lesson had been on the formation of the four academies, the charters made, and the alliances formed between the Kingdoms to help face the Grimm. It sounded interesting. It wasn't.

"I can't believe he could make the founding of the schools so boring. I mean, it's basically a story about four heroes spreading out to start up their own schools and save the world; one hero to each Kingdom. It should have been a story of fighting and awesome… not paperwork, alliances, and rules." She stuck her tongue out. "Ugh."

Jaune laughed. "Well, Oobleck does like his history. Even if it is a little dull…"

"Tell me about it. And I thought Port's lessons were bad…"

"Don't you sleep through those?"

"Not the point!" she cried, cheeks red. "I imagine they're bad anyway. They kind of have to be or I wouldn't have fallen asleep."

"They are pretty boring," he admitted. "You're not missing much. Ren keeps saying it's a mind game and that there is a deep lesson hidden in the lectures, but whenever I ask him what the lesson is he goes quiet. I think he's trying to convince himself it's true. By now he's too embarrassed to admit he might be wrong."

"Ha. Weiss is kind of the same, except she just listens because she's waiting for Port to praise her for it." Not that she'd ever say that to her teammate's face, of course. She wasn't stupid. "Still, that doesn't stop Oobleck's lessons being super boring."

"No, I guess not."

Jaune nodded to the side and the two of them walked through the corridors together. Late in the afternoon and after dinner, most of the halls were empty, at least around the classroom wings and not the dorms and common rooms. Being alone with him might have had her awkwardly wringing her hands together a week or two back but now she swung her arms at her side, a smile on her face as they chatted.

"I just don't know how long this is going to keep going for," she said. "I have to learn two years' worth of stuff. Does that mean I'll need to do this for two years?"

"Maybe." He noticed his mistake a second later when her face froze. "Maybe not. You're already doing a lot better than you were before. You answered all his questions perfectly."

"T-That's not anything special, though."

"You did better than me, _and_ you're two years younger."

"Weiss helped me read ahead," she admitted.

"That only shows how much hard work you're willing to put in."

Ruby glanced away so that he couldn't see her blushing. She wanted to argue against it, but what he'd said wasn't quite so bad as what Yang had. _Not special,_ she thought. _A hard worker._ She liked the sound of that, even if Weiss probably deserved it more.

"You're working hard too," she pointed out.

"Yeah, but it's not quite as impressive with me. You're having to learn this because you were never taught it. I…" He shrugged.

Once again Ruby wondered why exactly he _did_ have to learn it. It was obvious for her, but all Jaune had done was answer one question wrong in class; not exactly something that suggested he needed to attend catch-up lessons with her, or at least not so many. Oobleck never acted like it would ever be any different though, and Jaune never argued.

 _Doesn't he want to spend time with his team? What's so good about doing all these extra lessons? The only thing there is Oobleck and m-_

She cut herself off with an eep.

Her cheeks darkened even further.

"Hm, is something wrong?" he asked.

"N-No. No way." She shook her head desperately. "I-I was just thinking about things. You know, the festival."

"The Vytal Festival? Are you thinking of entering?"

"Yep." It hadn't actually been on her mind, but she leapt at the chance to talk about it, not only because it was super awesome, but because it would let her calm down before her hair caught fire. "Aren't you? It only comes around every four years, you know. There might not be another chance to enter. I'm not sure we'll be strong enough," she admitted – and it was kind of unfair some people would be getting to try in their fourth year and some their first, "but we're going to give it a go anyway. Yang and Nora are really strong, and Weiss knows a lot of strategy things."

"Strategy things?" He laughed, and she elbowed him in the ribs before she laughed along. "I think we'll enter," he said. "Pyrrha will want to if no one else. I'm fairly sure Ren and Blake won't care all that much, but Nora would complain if Ren didn't and Blake will just go with what's easiest."

"And you?" she pressed. "Don't _you_ want to win?"

"I don't mind all that much."

"Eh-?"

"I-I mean it would be nice," he said, "but I'm not expecting to win and even if I do it'll be off Pyrrha's back, you know? It won't actually be _me_ winning it."

"You could train to get good enough."

"In so short a time? I doubt it would make a difference. Besides, I _am_ training. Blake is helping me out."

"She is…?" Ruby hesitated, her teeth gnawing on her bottom lip. Yang had told her Blake and Jaune weren't anything serious, but she wasn't sure if she believed that. They always seemed to spend more time together than with anyone else, and she'd heard Ren complain about how the two often vanished together.

"She's my sparring partner," he went on, unaware of her thoughts. "She's a lot better than I am so if she can't get good enough to challenge Pyrrha, then I don't know how I can. At least in terms of the festival. It's only a month or so away. There's only so much someone can improve, right?"

"Y-Yeah, I guess. Say… Jaune…?"

He glanced down at her with a smile. "Hm?"

"Are you and Blake…?" She trailed off.

"Are we?"

"You know…" She made a vague gesture with her eyes to the side and coughed once. "You know."

"I… don't think I do."

Ugh, he was going to make her say it. "Are you together?" she asked.

"Together?" He blinked once, twice, and then leaned back with wide eyes. "W-What? You mean romantically? No. No way. Nuh-uh. Not a chance." He held both arms in front of him in an X-shape and then, as if realising what he'd just said, paled and looked behind him. "N-Not that there's anything wrong with her. She's great looking, is nice, friendl- okay, not friendly, but uh… she's perfectly okay, but no. No way."

There was something about the nervous way he looked around – as if expecting Blake to overhear and kill him – that made Ruby laugh. If she dared admit it she was a little relieved, too, though she wasn't sure if she really liked him or not.

Or that wasn't quite right. She liked him, especially studying together and just talking like this. He never treated her like she was younger or less intelligent than him, and she always got the feeling he was talking with her just like he did with anyone else. It was just that she wasn't sure if like meant _like_ , or what signs she was even meant to look for to find out. Dad had always said she'd "know when the time was right", while Yang had said she'd just have a "feeling".

Why did everything have to be so vague?

"Why were you asking, anyway?" Jaune asked, calming down once his partner had failed to materialise and drive a knife in his back. "Do we act like we are?"

"No, not really. I was just thinking."

"About…?"

 _Yeah, Ruby. What were you thinking about that involved his relationship status? How are you going to get your way out of this one?_ Her treacherous brain continued to ask such questions as she prayed for a hole to open up beneath her feet and swallow her. Naturally, there was no such phenomenon to save her.

"I… well, it was just that there's that dance coming up," she said. "Yang was talking about it and how most people would be going with dates. I was curious if you'd be going with Blake."

"Ah yeah, that thing." He sighed. "I hadn't thought about it, but if I'll probably go with Blake as partners if no one asks me. And if no one asks her, of course," he added. "And if she's okay with that," he double-added. "And if it doesn't look weird." He paused. "Come to think of it, that's a lot of ifs."

"So you'll ask her to go with you?"

"As friends, I guess."

Ruby took a deep breath. "Then why not me?"

He froze, her doing the same as they came to a halt in the middle of the corridor. She wished she could take the words back, or at least try them again in a less flippant manner. As it was, it was all she could do to not meet his eyes.

"Go with you?"

"Y-Yeah," she said. "I-I mean if you're just going to ask to go with her because you don't want to go alone, then why don't we go together? I don't have anyone either and it'd be weird because I don't know a lot of people and Yang will tease me or try to introduce people to me. We're friends, right? We can go together and just have fun."

"Okay."

"And if someone asks you, then you can change your mind, but you're going anyway and so am I, so I just thought we could solve two problems at once."

"Ruby-"

"If you don't want to, that's fine. We can do something else."

"Ruby," he repeated.

"Huh? What?"

"I said yes."

It took a second for that to filter into her brain. Even then, she stared at him, uncertain if she'd heard correctly. "What?"

"I said yes," he echoed. "I'll go with you."

"R-Really?"

"Sure. I'd love to."

Oh… Oh wow. Okay, play it cool. Don't react in any obvious way and whatever happens, do _not_ start talking about weapons. This was definitely not the time for it. Ruby took a few deep breaths before she nodded, already feeling her stomach flopping about. "O-Okay, great. Thanks for agreeing. I'll uh… I need to go and talk to Yang. I'll see you later?"

"That's fine. I need to go do something tonight. See you around."

She waved behind her as she dashed away, and only once she was out of his sight did she let her relief – and also her horror – show. She had a date. She, Ruby Rose, had a date to the dance. Oh good Gods above, this was going to go wrong, she just knew it!

"Yang… I need to find Yang. She'll know what to do."

/-/

It was the middle of the night by the time he'd travelled from Beacon to Vale, headed to a VSS safehouse, dyed his hair black, and made his way towards where Cinder had instructed him to meet her. Even after all that time, he couldn't help but feel giddy at the fact he had a date to the dance – long before most people were even thinking about it. _Even if it's just going with Ruby as a friend, it's a huge relief. Not to mention I should be trying to get closer to her anyway._

Of course, he'd tell Oobleck it was for the mission. The Director didn't really need to know otherwise, or that the main reason for accepting was so he wouldn't have to ask Blake or risk going alone. Ruby was fun, and the way she blushed whenever she received a compliment was adorable.

Now wasn't the time to think of it, however. He had his mission and that was dangerous enough to keep him busy. Blake hadn't been thrilled to be left out of things again, but he'd consoled her with some confidential information on the White Fang, and access to a list of Roman's known crimes. She'd promised to take that to the library and cross-reference it to try and find out precisely when he'd started working with terrorists. In truth he wasn't sure what she could achieve that the might of the VSS couldn't, but so long as she was kept busy she wouldn't cause any problems. Hopefully there would be some way for her to help in the future hat would be more useful. They'd have to see.

"Got to get my head in the game," he whispered, shaking his head and forcing thoughts of Blake and Ruby away. John White wouldn't be excited at the thought of a dance or of breaking the law. He'd be nervous, cautious and on edge. Luckily for him those emotions were quick to come to the fore the moment he saw Cinder Fall.

"There you are, John. We've been waiting for you."

"We?" he asked with a look around. "Also, aren't I on time? I thought you said to meet you at ten."

"You're early. Don't worry. We've simply been here longer." The woman stepped to the side and gestured for him to follow. She led him through an alley between two buildings, one a housing tower and the other some kind of abandoned police or fire station. The signage was long since gone but it had a large gated compound and a garage door that was far larger than any car required. It was that which made him imagine a fire engine driving out.

"What is this place?"

"A safehouse of mine, though soon to be abandoned."

It wasn't one the VSS knew about. "Has it been found out?"

"Not yet, but after our recent issues…" She paused to let the word hang. "Let's just say I feel it's time to spread out our resources a little further. There's no telling how much the White Fang's tongues have wagged."

Is that what she needed him for, then, heavy duty lifting? If she wanted to move goods from one safehouse to another, he would be in the perfect position to have the VSS raid it. That said, if she were really doing this to close what she thought was a leak among the White Fang then taking out the new location would only confirm it to be someone else. As the only witness, suspicion would instantly fall onto him.

Even if Oobleck pulled him out before they attacked, they'd not only lose the position his cover held, but they would alert Cinder and Roman to what was going on; that a third organisation was interfering, and that it wasn't just the police acting on the White Fang's indiscretion. _Will we be able to do anything with this information? I'm not even sure._

Oobleck would know, and be the one to make the decision. It would have to be a case of whether the Director felt the payoff was worth the investment. He might decide it better they wait until it was bigger, something where they could stop Cinder once and for all.

"Is Roman here?"

"Not tonight," Cinder said. She pushed open a metal door and stepped in, and he caught it as it closed on him, shutting it quietly as he followed her into the disused building. She seemed to know the way, even in the dark, and she kept talking as they went. "He has his own task tonight, something only he can handle and that you wouldn't be of much use with. Don't worry, John. You'll have your moment."

He wasn't sure if that was a threat or not. It felt like one. The two of them came upon a door before making it much further, and Jaune waited while she opened it. Light spilled out from within, the first he'd seen in the otherwise dank and gloomy place. Rather than enter, she stepped aside and motioned for him to do so first.

"After you."

It looked like she wanted to make a scene. Jaune shrugged, stepped inside, and then froze as his mouth fell open.

"Do you like it?" Cinder asked, brushing past him. "Atlas' newest toy, or one they've yet to even reveal. A fully-functioning piloted or autonomous battle unit."

Also known as a Paladin.

Jaune's mouth ran dry. He'd found it, he'd actually found it. It had been so long since their mission had been just to locate this that he'd all but given up hope. It was the mission before they'd discovered Cinder and her as of yet unknown plans for Vale. It was what Atlas expected them to locate and acquire, and what Oobleck wanted the VSS to poke around inside of and reverse-engineer. And right now, it was laid on the back of a flatbed lorry, tied down by thick cords that ran up and down the length of its body, securing it in place. Oobleck had to be told.

"We acquired this recently and stored it here, but our recent problems with the White Fang have necessitated we move it," Cinder explained. "That's what I need you for. Emerald?"

"Yes, ma'am?"

The voice came from above and Jaune flinched, turning to look up to where the girl had been waiting the entire time. It was the one from before – the one who'd faced Cardin, and his blood boiled the moment he saw her. He clenched his teeth together. He couldn't do anything to her right now, but in time… Cardin would be avenged in time.

"This is Emerald Sustrai. Emerald, this is John White. He's one of Roman's men and will be working with us for the foreseeable future."

Emerald looked up and down and nodded. She didn't extend a hand and instead crossed her arms. She was also somewhat stiff with her movements, perhaps from the wound he'd inflicted on her. Even with aura to speed up the healing, it would still be an injury she bore for a little while. Good. He wanted her to remember it.

"He doesn't look like much," she said. "Are you sure he can be trusted?"

Cinder smiled. "He's exactly what we need. Be nice."

"Yes, ma'am."

"The two of you will have plenty of time to get to know one another. For now I need you to see to the transportation of this across the city. Emerald knows the destination. John, I take it you can drive?"

"I don't have a license, but I know how," he said. It had been one of the things Oobleck taught him at the VSS, and though he'd only used simulators for it he figured it wouldn't be too hard. They'd not exactly be outrunning the police in this huge thing, so it was probably a peaceful job. "We _are_ going incognito, right? Is there some tarp we can cover this thing with?"

"There is."

 _Then why isn't it already covered?_ In fact, why show it to him at all? It was clear Cinder wanted him to see it otherwise she'd not have told him what he was meant to transport. She _wanted_ him to know where the Paladin was going and what it was.

A test?

Was she really willing to risk the Paladin just to test his loyalty? If so, that meant whatever else she had in mind would be worth far more to her than some stolen military hardware capable of levelling a good part of the city. That was a frightening thought. _They also don't need me to drive this,_ he realised. _I'm sure Cinder or Emerald could if they needed to. This whole thing might just be to test me._

Or to kill him. There was just as good a chance it was a trap for some other purpose. He had no way of knowing and could only trust in Oobleck monitoring his location through the various trackers he had on his body, some disguised as simple things like his wallet or his watch. Many of those had emergency beacons on if he needed them, and he could always flee into the sewers – providing he saw the betrayal coming, that was.

"Is that the job, then?" he asked. "You need me to drive this thing while Emerald navigates. It sounds easy enough."

Rather than correct him Cinder smiled and patted his shoulder. "That's the spirit. I'll leave this to the two of you, then. I have a meeting to attend to and-" Cinder's eyes, fixed behind him, widened.

It was all the warning he got but his instincts kicked in and he activated his aura just in time to feel something strike him hard in the centre of his back. He was propelled forward – into Cinder's body – and she staggered back before she pushed him up. Emerald cried out and Jaune only had the time to turn before he saw a roundhouse kick swinging into his face. He got his hands up but the force of it threw him back.

Pain flared through him as he crashed into a wall. His head cracked back, and he saw stars for a moment, before he slumped down and fell onto his hands and knees. His tongue was bleeding, likely from him biting it. He looked up in time to see a figure dressed all in white – with a strange white and blue mask – facing off against Cinder Fall. She, for the armour on the chest made it obvious, wielded a sword, a thin and curved blade that she gripped with one hand. She attacked in wide, sweeping, cuts, and Cinder fell back under the assault, somehow wielding two blades he could have sworn weren't there before.

What the hell was going on? The figure wasn't VSS, absolutely not. The armour was all wrong, not just in the colour but also the design. It was more armoured than what he was used to, and there was no black overcoat to hide anything. Her helmet was sleeker, also, with a blue strip horizontally where the eyes would be. It glowed ominously, hinting at something more technologically advanced than the VSS were capable of. The armour was thicker, too, with white plates all across it, and some that shone blue light out from underneath.

 _It's not the VSS, but someone with more technology. There's only one option._

"What the fuck is this?" Emerald cursed, staggering to her feet. If her limp had been bad before it was crippling now, and she kept one hand linked to her lower back. "This… These aren't the same guys as last time. Where do they all keep coming from?"

"Emerald, John." Cinder's voice snapped out, even as she deflected a strike that might have beheaded her. The woman's amber eyes fixed on them. "Get the Paladin out. Now!"

"But-"

"NOW!" she shouted.

"Tch. Damn it." Emerald grabbed him by the arm and hauled him up. She tossed him a set of keys and then rushed to the other side of the vehicle. Meanwhile, Jaune stared down at the only thing able to start the ignition.

If he threw those away and joined the figure in white – who he was fairly sure was from Atlas – then they could fight together against Cinder. It might be a chance to end everything here and now. _But what if we lost? She's fighting evenly with Cinder and we have no idea of her capabilities. I don't even know if this woman is strong at all._

It would be a gamble, and if he wanted to make it he would have to go all-in.

He wasn't willing to do that. Not with people's lives in the balance. He dashed over to the lorry and pulled the door open, scrambled in and jammed the key into the ignition. "What about the tarp?" he asked, looking back through the window behind his head to see the Paladin on full display.

"You think we have time for that!?" Emerald snapped.

"Everyone in Vale will see this."

"We don't have a choice. Drive!"

He pulled the lorry into gear and slammed his foot down. Through the rear-view mirror he could vaguely see the flashes of light that indicated Cinder and the Agent's fight, only a sign that it was continuing and less an idea of who was winning. His attention was soon caught by the garage door blocking his path, a thin, rusted, piece of corrugated metal. It wasn't opening, and Emerald had already braced herself, so he didn't bother asking what he was supposed to do. He simply ducked his head at the last second and prayed nothing would come smashing through the windscreen.

The sound of the vehicle tearing through the door was horrifying. It was like a metal cat's death scream, mixed with ten nails scraping down a chalkboard which had steel plates underneath it. There was a loud bang and the cabin jumped and rattled, crashing over and through some other barrier. He stuck his head up just in time to see the concrete barrier ahead, and he spun the over-large wheel, pulling it out of the compound and onto the road. Cars braked and swerved all around them, creating a path as he drove through the panicked, honking, mess.

"So much for simple," he said. "The police are going to be all over us."

"As if they weren't already. We've got a stolen battle mech behind us. Take a right here." She gripped on tight as he pulled a sudden turn, skipping a red light and forcing people out of the way. More honks, more shouting, and an explosion in the distance – maybe from the abandoned fire station they'd just left. "We're heading to the west side of the city," Emerald said. "There's a place we have there. I'll give you more specific instructions when we're close, just take the overpass and get us over to the industrial district."

"Got it."

There was no hiding what they were doing, nor being subtle. He pulled in and out of lanes, dodged traffic and otherwise skipped a lane to drive up onto an overpass. The roads were straight and long there, bisecting the city. It would be easier and faster, but there would be no cover. Far behind them, sirens began to wail.

"Police," Emerald remarked, not at all surprised. "That's not good."

"It was bound to happen. Do you have any way of getting rid of them?"

"Not unless they get close. I'd need a line of sight directly to them and-" She cut off as her scroll flared angrily. Whoever was calling must have been important because she dropped everything to answer it. "Ma'am? You're oka- what? Us? Y-Yes, ma'am. I understand."

She put the scroll down and turned to him. "Okay. We've got good news and bad news."

"What's the bad news?"

There was a loud bang and the lorry swerved a little to the side under the force of it before he was able to correct himself. He glanced into the side mirror and saw a white shape now clinging to the side of the lorry, right onto one of the Paladin's arms.

"Never mind. I think I've found the bad news."

"Already?" Emerald slammed a hand down in front of his crotch and leaned fully across his body so she could see the mirror. He had to adjust his arms over her to keep hold of the wheel. "Not good. Alright, you keep driving. I'll deal with this."

"What!?"

Emerald paid him no heed and pulled out from under him. She hopped up and placed her back to the windscreen, then kicked with both feet at the glass pane behind him. It shattered on the second hit and she started to crawl out of it, up and onto the top of the Paladin's frame. He adjusted the rear-view mirror so he could see her. She'd just had the time to draw her weapon before the white-armoured figure, as imposing as ever if a little battle-damaged, hauled herself up.

Trust the Atlas Special Forces to appear, and now of all times. Oobleck hadn't mentioned this at all, but he had a feeling the Director didn't know. Similarly, the ASF probably didn't know about his mission, or the fact he was an undercover agent at all, which would cause problems if Emerald ended up getting killed.

 _This isn't good. Emerald's injured and I'm stuck driving this damn thing._ He glanced in the side mirror and saw flashing blue and red lights coming up behind. _Great. Just what we need._ He slammed his foot down again but apart from the loud roar of the engine, not much happened. The lorry was a heavy piece of military equipment as it was, and all that extra armour didn't do much for speed, let alone the huge-ass robot on the back. The speedometer was practically fixed at a paltry sixty-five miles per hour, and didn't look to be ticking up anytime soon.

Gunshots echoed behind him as the two women joined combat. He couldn't make out much, too focused on avoiding traffic, but what little flashes he saw suggested the ASF agent had the upper hand and that Emerald was barely keeping herself alive, let alone _on_ the Paladin. One good hit would send her flying, and it was that Emerald was relying on, just trying to land the single blow she needed to dislodge the intruder.

What the ASF were doing here was obvious. Even though they'd asked the VSS to find the Paladin, they clearly hadn't trusted or stopped their own investigations. The lack of trust – while warranted, given Oobleck's intent – would have kept the two agencies from co-operating, and honestly the ASF would have probably done this even if they knew about Cinder. She was Vale's problem, and while the two Kingdoms were allied, the immediate issue for Atlas was the risk of _their_ military equipment being used to kill Vale's citizens. Compared to the risk of a diplomatic disaster that might split the alliance in two, Cinder Fall and her plans could do whatever they wanted.

 _Meanwhile, I've got to make sure this Paladin makes it or the VSS will lose everything. Cinder will still be free, but she'll never trust me if I make up some ridiculous story of how the ASF mysteriously released me._ Even Emerald and the Paladin being lost probably wouldn't stop her, and as much as the Paladin was an issue for the ASF, it just wasn't for them. Stopping Cinder was.

With Emerald and the agent busy, Jaune thumbed his lapel.

"Director. We have an issue."

" _That's quite the understatement. I've heard the news. Have you ever heard of subtlety, Rat?"_

"Not my fault." He yelped and swerved out the way of a police car that tried to cut him off. It wasn't fully successful, and he cringed as the front of the cabin connected with the bonnet, spinning and flicking the offending car into the side barriers. "Oh Gods, I hope they're okay. Oobleck, I need help."

" _If you can lose the police-"_

"It's not the police! Atlas are here!"

" _What!?"_

"Atlas. There's an Agent dressed in full white, full mask, high-tech, fighting on the back of my truck." He glanced back in time to see Emerald being knocked to the ground. She skidded and gasped as she almost rolled off the Paladin entirely, but managed to catch herself on a jutted-out piece of metal. The Agent closed in on her and would have finished her off, but Emerald was able to fire some shots off to drive her back, while gripping on one-handed.

" _The ASF? I hadn't heard of any Agents entering Vale, but General Ironwood visited Ozpin today. It's not inconceivable one snuck in with his transport."_ There was some faint cursing on the other end of the line. _"I'll try to get in contact and explain the situation but that may take time. They may also stall and pretend they couldn't make a signal through to the Agent. The Paladin is more important to them than you are."_

"Wonderful. What should I do in the meanwhile?"

" _Try to lose them and stick to your cover. I'll do what I can to offer aid as soon as possible. I'm ending this transmission, Rat. Good luck."_

The call clicked off and Jaune let go of his collar, cursing. A quick check in the side mirrors showed a veritable convoy of police behind. A spotlight shone down from above, indicating a police Bullhead in the air, and there was another one ahead, this one fitted in a civilian style, probably an aerial news vehicle covering the debacle.

All the while, an Agent of the ASF continued to knock his `ally` around the back of a speeding flatbed moving along a busy highway with a stolen military-grade robot on the back. And, to make things worse, there was a police blockade ahead – as indicated by the flashing lights flicking in the distance, some mile or so down the freeway.

Jaune growled and gripped the wheel. Red and blue light flared up in his windscreen as he gritted his teeth and prepared for impact.

"Simple job, my ass…"

/-/

Blake's eyebrow twitched as she put down the records she'd been reading through and watched the news feed on the library terminal. The image showed grainy footage of a police chase in action, and of particular note was the distinctive shape of some kind of robot on the back. Two figures fought atop it, both obscured either by clothing or low-quality news footage. Meanwhile, Lisa Lavender commentated on what was apparently a high-stakes chase through Vale in the middle of the night.

The middle of the night which _just so coincidentally_ happened to be when Jaune had gone off for another mission with the VSS. Missions which, even to her eye, seemed to have an almost mythical capability to go wrong.

"Damn it, Jaune. Every time…"

* * *

 **And so, the ASF appears. Naturally, this is the same figure who appeared briefly in the chapter before. There is something of a distinction between the two Agencies in terms of appearance, and more than just colour. I've tried to show that the ASF are much more advanced and armoured, while the VSS are advanced thanks to their Atlas gear, but more rough and ready and all around less reliant. You might think of the ASF armour as looking something like a cross between the suits in Crysis or other SCI-FI games, where as the VSS ones are more like what the cover art suggests, a mix of Matrix, Watchmen, Darker than Black and other such things.**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 14** **th** **January**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	24. Chapter 24

**Here we are.**

* * *

 **Cover Art:** Kegi Springfield

 **Chapter 24**

* * *

"Oh, I'm so happy for you!"

Ruby both blushed and preened under her sister's praise, giggling lightly as Yang vibrated on her bed – almost more excited than _she_ was about the whole thing.

Almost…

"I'm looking forward to it too," Ruby admitted, "but I'm nervous. I don't know what to do…"

"I think that's to be expected," Weiss pointed out, not unkindly. "Still, I hardly believe Jaune Arc is a Casanova. He strikes me as more of a gentleman. I'm sure you'll be fine."

"A gentleman?" Yang asked. "Is that some rare praise from the Ice Queen herself?"

"Hardly, Xiao-Long. I'm just giving dues where they're deserved. My point is that he likely has as little experience in this as you do, Ruby," she said, smiling at the younger girl. "I very much doubt he will have any ulterior motives, so you should just do whatever makes you feel comfortable."

"Boots?" Ruby offered.

"Except that," both Weiss and Yang said at the same time.

"Aww…"

"You're wearing a dress, sis. No getting out of that. Besides, this is your first official date. You've got to make it memorable." Yang's face, which had been all smiles, suddenly dulled. "And you asked someone out before anyone even asked _me_. The eternal shame…"

Ruby patted Yang's arm. "I'm sure someone will ask you."

"Pitied and comforted by my younger sister…" Yang wiped a fake tear from her eye. "How the tables have turned…"

Ruby laughed at the good-natured teasing. She still felt a little light-headed, but with everyone on her side she was sure it would work out. Jaune was a nice guy, too. He wouldn't do anything weird or make her feel odd.

"Do you think he's as nervous about this as I am?" she asked.

Yang laughed. "Ruby. I'll bet my right arm he's thinking about you _right now_."

/-/

"Arghhhhh!"

Jaune's frightened scream was drowned under the sound of the truck striking the police blockade. He leaned back in his seat, hands on the wheel, mouth open. The chassis _slammed_ into the side of the first vehicle and flung it aside. A second's bonnet was caught by the side of the cabin and sent spiralling into a third car, offices diving out of the way in fright as the armoured vehicle barrelled through. The windscreen in front of his face shattered from the impact and shards of glass flew into his face. He clenched his eyes shut and pushed his aura forward to prevent them cutting him to ribbons.

Emerald cried out too, shocked at an impact she hadn't seen coming – too focused on the ASF Agent. The girl fell and rolled back into the cabin, slamming against the roof of it with her back just behind his head.

"What the hell!?" she yelled.

"Police blockade!"

"Where?"

He didn't bother to answer and as the blockade disappeared behind them, now in ruin, Emerald made a vague sound of understanding. The cars chasing them were cut off for a moment, but it wouldn't last. There was at least one police Bullhead in the air, the other being a news one, and more cars would be en route.

"Shit, she's coming!" Emerald gasped, trying to stand.

Jaune pushed a hand back behind him and caught her by the hem of her pants, preventing her from standing.

"What the fu-?"

He slammed both feet on the brakes.

Emerald's question was cut off as the truck's tyres screeched, the sound and smell of rubber unbearable. Smoke kicked up as the pads gave way, but not more several tonnes of steel and iron decelerated rapidly, forcing Emerald back into the cabin from the sheer force. She collapsed down into the footwell.

A white body, on the other hand, was flung over the cabin from the sudden stop and propelled out onto the road ahead. Jaune released the brake and pushed back down on the accelerator, dragging the truck into a lower gear and powering towards the Agent.

The woman had fallen onto her hands and knees, but rose to her feet as the vehicle hurtled towards her.

 _Dodge, damn it,_ he thought, hands turning white on the steering wheel. There wasn't enough room for him to swerve aside and the vehicle was too cumbersome to bring to a full stop. Jaune stared her down as they rushed toward her, and for a strange moment it felt like her eyes met his – even through the blue visor.

At the last conceivable second she threw herself aside. The truck hurtled past.

"Good work, John," Emerald gasped. She pulled herself up and sagged into the seat beside him. "That was close."

He breathed his own sigh of relief. "Yeah, I wasn't sure if we'd-" A metal clang echoed behind them. Jaune and Emerald shared a quick glance, before he looked over into the side mirror and behind.

A metal chord had attached itself to the Paladin from behind, the chord having pierced through its armour and hooked in its internals. Attached to the other end of it was the Agent, who was now being dragged along behind them, balanced on one foot. She had a hook-shot like the VSS did and had shot it into the Paladin.

"Is she road-skiing behind us?"

"She's what!?" Emerald pushed over him once more, again pinning him to the seat as she pushed her head out of the window. "Oh, you have _got_ to be kidding me. Who the hell is this?" She growled and reached for her hip. "John, keep this thing steady."

"What are you going to-?"

His question was cut off by a burst of gunfire. Emerald's upper body hung out of the window, her legs, hips and ass on his lap as she shot backwards at the Agent, who to her credit was able to swerve to the side as she dragged herself in. The shots ricocheted off the road but Emerald kept firing, reloading as she had to while he struggled to control the vehicle around her body.

"Keep it steady!" she snapped. "I can't hit her if you're driving like an idiot."

"And I can barely drive if you're straddling me!" he yelled.

It hardly helped that the police Bullhead had pulled low on the road ahead, one office hanging from the door with a megaphone shouting for them to pull over and surrender. That wouldn't have been a huge problem if it wasn't for the spotlight being shone directly in his eyes, practically blinding him. It was all he could do to focus on the edge of the road overlooking a huge drop and make sure he stayed vaguely equidistant from it.

Why were they even asking them to surrender if Emerald was shooting a gun backwards at someone road-skiing onto a stolen Paladin. It felt a little bit beyond the pull over and surrender stage.

"Damn it. I can't get a proper shot," Emerald swore. "She's moving about too mu- argh!" Emerald pulled back suddenly, the top of her head catching his chin and stunning him. She collapsed onto his waist not a second before the mirror at the side was blown away by some kind of blast. Only melting metal prongs that had once held it out remained.

"Well, she doesn't seem to have a problem hitting us," Jaune said, somewhat hysterically.

"Is that supposed to mean something? I'm injured. Give me a break."

"This really isn't the time for you to be arguing with me." The side-mirror was gone but he looked in the rear-view one in time to see the hook shot draw in. The Agent was clambering up the side of the Paladin. Jaune swallowed. "Okay. Take the wheel."

Emerald gaped at him. "What!?"

"Take the wheel," he said, letting go of it and leaving the girl to gasp and hurl herself at it before the truck could drive through the barricade and off the overpass entirely.

"Are you an idiot!? I can't drive!"

"You're going in a straight line. Just keep it steady and push the right-most pedal down."

"What if I crash?"

"Don't." Jaune pushed his head out the broken window at the back of the cabin and crawled out onto the Paladin, ignoring Emerald's frantic arguments, as well as her expletive-filled rants. The wind caught him first, whipping his black-dyed hair back as he strained his eyes to watch the white figure climb and stand up the length of a Paladin away from him.

He had a moment to idly ponder what it must have looked like to the news crew, a man in a black suit with a red tie and red sunglasses standing atop a stolen robot, facing off against someone who looked like a cross between a cyborg and some kids show super-hero. That moment was fleeting, leaving him nothing but a faint smile.

At least he looked dapper.

"We'll see how long that lasts…" he mused, drawing his dagger.

The woman opposite him tilted her head to the side. She'd used a thin sword before, a straight-sword with two cutting edges. He wasn't sure whether she'd lost it against Cinder or dropped it more recently when he'd catapulted her off the vehicle. She was disarmed now, however, but no less dangerous. One foot shifted forward and she fell into a stance side-on to him, one arm held out and up in a fist, the other kept close to her core, prepared to attack or defend.

It was the exact same stance Oobleck used.

 _Oobleck did say he helped train some members of the ASF,_ he recalled. The ASF had needed to get back on its feet so they'd traded advanced technology for training. It looked like this woman had been the recipient of such.

Luckily for him, she wasn't the only person who'd been put through a crash course with the Director of the VSS. He tossed his dagger in the air, caught it with his other hand, and brought it close to his chest, his right hand held out to catch and intercept any attack. A purely counter-attacking style. One Oobleck had taught him.

The Agent opposite stiffened.

John White smiled. She'd caught the message.

But the smile was wiped away when she dashed in regardless. Her fist struck his arm, knocking it aside, and her other came in for his midriff. He swerved aside and lashed out with the dagger. It scored her armour, sparked, and bounced uselessly off. She didn't even move to dodge and instead caught his hand by the wrist in his moment of surprise. With a twist and a kick, she flipped him up and over and slammed him down.

The knife clattered away but Jaune held on to her hand grimly, dragging her down over him and striking up into her stomach with both feet. It wasn't anything Oobleck had taught him – but then again Oobleck had prioritised the idea of _not_ being on his ass in the first place. Since he hadn't explicitly been taught to fight off people better, stronger and more well-equipped than he – the proper response in that case being to retreat – he had to improvise.

And she was better than him. He'd been able to guess that straight up, but even if he hadn't then the first three seconds of combat proved it. She took the blow and pushed through it, pressing a knee down on his neck to choke him. His arms flailed at her knee, trying to dislodge or break it, but her armour was too strong, too advanced.

His eyes fixed on her arm instead, which was still gripping his. With a desperate cry he grabbed it and slammed his hand down where the joint would be on _his_ armour. With a pneumatic hiss, the hook shot fired.

There was no cry from her – though it could have been swallowed by her mask – but there was a moment of obviously surprise where her grip loosened on him a second before she was tugged off as the hook shot drew her in. Jaune staggered to his feet.

The sirens were back again, he realised.

There wasn't anything to do about that and Emerald was driving well enough, albeit the vehicle jerked from side to side every now and then as she wrenched the wheel to and fro. It wasn't enough to throw either of them off, but as the ASF Agent stood, she had to crouch and correct herself, as did Jaune, catching onto the Paladin's cockpit with one hand.

 _What I wouldn't give to know how to pilot this thing right now_. It would have been a convenient solution, especially if he could flick her off the robot with its own finger – but Cinder would surely be a little suspicious if her hired help suddenly knew how to pilot a secret weapon like this. Seeing as it was Atlas-tech and he was facing an ASF Agent, the bigger threat was _her_ getting a chance to enter it.

Or just killing him entirely. Jaune spared a glance back for the cabin. Emerald was cursing loudly, panicking and shrieking as she tried in vain to shake the police. She certainly wasn't paying any attention to what was going on behind her.

Jaune stared at the Agent opposite him. "You're ASF, correct?"

She didn't respond, or at least not to him.

"I know you can hear me through your mask. I also know you can open a channel to speak out of it if you want to. You're from Atlas Special Forces sent here to reclaim the Paladin." My eyes narrowed. "You're encroaching on Vale Secret Service territory… and on a VSS mission."

Her mask tilted to the side. She didn't reach up to it, however, if the ASF even needed to in order to activate their speakers. He waited a few seconds for her to reply but she never did. She fell back into a combat stance and took two short steps towards him.

"Bloody Atlas," he hissed. He'd never even met anyone from there, other than Weiss, and he already had a low opinion of them. It hardly helped that they'd lost the Paladin in the first place. "Fine," he said, pushing one foot back and taking his own stance. "If that's how you want it to be. Just don't complain when this becomes a problem later down the line."

"Don't worry," she whispered. "It won't be."

"You can-? Argh!" Jaune bent over her fist, which was suddenly buried in his stomach. He gasped, face pressed against her body. Her mask brushed against his hair and he heard her whisper in a soft, feminine voice.

"I have my mission. That is the only thing which matters."

Jaune gasped and slumped onto his knees as she released him. The blow had been perfectly placed, driving up and into his solar plexus as he drew breath. It hadn't just driven the air from his lungs – it had practically paralysed him.

The Agent stepped past him.

 _D-Damn it. The mission…_ If she killed Emerald and stopped the truck it would be over. Cinder wouldn't be finished. She'd already lost Mercury and it hadn't slowed her down. This would be no different except that he'd lost his cover. The VSS would lose their only lead. Not that Atlas cared. They just wanted the Paladin.

With the last of his strength he reached out and grasped the woman's ankle. There were no words from her as she turned to stare at him, but he could just imagine the sigh, a raised eyebrow, and a silent question of what he thought he was hoping to achieve.

"You're not… going anywhere…" he croaked.

"You're hardly in a position to stop me. Run along to your handler and-"

An explosion rent the air.

The blast was off to the side and well off the road, and the two of them watched as the Bullhead that had been flying beside them drifted down, smoke and flames pooling from it. The news Bullhead pulled further away, suddenly startled.

Another drew up into view from below the overpass – close enough to see the open hatch on the side where a familiar black-haired figure stood. Cinder Fall had one hand held out, fire coruscating about it as she _glared_ down at them.

The Agent reacted instantly. Her foot crashed into his jaw, knocking him back and forcing him to release her. Even as he caught himself on a protruding piece of the Paladin's armour she rushed to its cockpit, thumbing a button to open it with a loud hiss. Before she could climb in a blast of scalding heat struck the Paladin, diffusing over its armour and washing toward her – forcing her back. It was followed with a loud clang as Cinder landed on the construct, the Bullhead pulling away and opening fire on the police behind with its miniguns.

"We were interrupted the last time," Cinder said, kicking the cockpit shut. Her hair was dishevelled, her face smudged, but she didn't look injured. What she did look was angry. Very, very, angry. "It's quite rude to crash a party and then leave early, don't you think?"

The Agent didn't respond. Unarmed, she fell into a familiar stance.

"John," Cinder said, not taking her eyes from the woman. "Good work so far. Take over the driving and leave this to me."

He didn't argue. His jaw ached, his lungs could barely draw in breath, but he managed to pull himself up and stagger back to the cabin, walking behind the Agent but keeping a good distance between them. There was nothing he could do now, and he wasn't sure _who_ he should have been helping anyway. In the end, his cover was more important.

"There you are," Emerald said when he slipped back into the cabin. "Quick, take over before I get us all killed." She shimmied off the driver's seat, holding the wheel steady as best she could until he could get in position and take it from her. They were close to the industrial district already and the signs warned of a turn-off several miles ahead.

"Cinder is here," he said.

"I know. I did mention bad news _and_ good news."

She had, but she'd kept quiet on the good. "You could have warned me."

"Yeah sure, before or after the freak attacked us." She scoffed and turned around to watch the fight, leaving him to drive. "Cinder will finish her off, no doubt. That weirdo doesn't stand a-" Emerald's words cut off with an angry squawk.

"What?" he asked, shooting a glance in the mirror.

"She jumped ship," the green-haired girl spat. "Straight off the bridge and down into the bay. Coward."

Jaune let out a long breath, ignoring Emerald as she ranted at the unfairness of not seeing the woman beat to a pulp. The ASF wouldn't have risked their lives like that, however. Not so pointlessly. The Agent had already been disarmed and must have been exhausted. In that regard it was better to call the mission off and try again another time.

They were safe… for now.

"We're coming up on the industrial district. I need directions to this place you have. Not to mention we'll need to lose the cops before we pull in."

"Leave that to me," Cinder interrupted, having already made her way to the cabin. "I shall keep them off us. Take a left here and pull off the overpass, then go down the main road. The buildings are too tall for Bullheads to move around in. If they try I'll be able to swat them out of the sky easily."

"And the police cars?"

"Roman is piloting the Bullhead you saw earlier. For all his faults he's an accomplished pilot. He'll keep them off our tail." She chuckled. "The two of you have done well. Let's wrap this little task up before things get worse."

Jaune chuckled. "I'll agree to that, ma'am."

/-/

It didn't take them long to lose the police.

Much as Cinder planned, the enclosed streets between the tall industrial buildings prevented the Bullheads from approaching, and even if they weren't sure what was shooting at them, they knew better than to make themselves easy targets. Once they had been kept a respectful distance it was just a matter of taking a few twists and turns, and a few trips through dark tunnels, and before long they'd managed to lose them.

The building Emerald directed him to was some kind of old processing plant, its tall towers covered in rust and unused. A sign hung outside but the paint had peeled off it, giving no hint as to its original purpose. At their instruction, he pulled the vehicle into the walled compound and towards one of the doors, which slowly opened when Cinder pushed a button on some kind of remote.

Once inside, the three of them climbed out of the truck. It was in a sorry state, the grill and radiator at the front badly damaged and some of the chassis completely missing. It was a miracle it had kept going at all, but that was probably because of its rugged military construction. The Paladin, on the other hand, was practically unharmed – only a little smudged from Cinder's flame-based attacks.

"Well, that was quite the unexpected show," Cinder said, leaping down from the back.

"The whole city knows what just happened," Emerald said. "I'm pretty sure they caught our identities, too. Or at least mine and John's. You might still be okay since you scared them away when you appeared, ma'am."

"No. That woman escaped, so my identity is as compromised as yours. No matter. _That_ plan was thrown away the moment Mercury was killed."

Jaune wasn't sure what they were speaking about, but knew better than to ask. "Shouldn't we be a little more worried?" he asked. "Even if we lost the cops they know we're in the industrial district. They're bound to start looking for this thing sooner or later."

Cinder smiled at him. It wasn't a kind smile, but it wasn't a particularly cruel one either. It was more like she'd found his words amusing, like she was privy to a joke he didn't understand. "You needn't worry, John. This is only a temporary house for this machine. It's going to be moved out of their reach before they can hope to find it. Hopefully a little more subtly than this," she added.

"We're sorry, ma'am." Emerald bowed her head.

"No apologies. This fault is not yours. In fact, it might even be seen as something of a boon. We know who our mysterious masked enemies are now, at least."

"We do?" Jaune asked nervously.

"Yes. The technology that woman revealed can only be found in one kingdom, and she attempted to enter and steal the Paladin. It took Roman weeks to learn how to move that thing, and that was with several training manuals stolen along with it. She knew how to pilot it."

"Atlas," Emerald realised. "She was from Atlas."

"Indeed. It seems they've reacted to their stolen device at last… or perhaps they've been our enemies all along." She looked to Emerald. "You said the ones who attacked you before were masked. Was this woman similar?"

"Kind of… the colour scheme was different, but the general feel was the same. She was stronger than the ones that attacked us, though. Way stronger."

He kept quiet, content to let them come up with their own ideas. There was no telling whether them believing it was Atlas was a good thing or not. It might provide the VSS an excuse, but they were dead on the money and since the ASF and the VSS were nominally allies, it might still cause them problems.

Even so, what could he do? The ASF couldn't have been more obvious if they'd screamed an Atlesian battle cry as they charged in. He'd look like an idiot if he tried to suggest this was some other faction.

"What do we do now?" he asked instead.

"For now, we rest and allow the heat to die down." Cinder moved towards him with a seductive smile. His body tensed. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "You've done well, John. Very well."

He clenched his teeth and prepared for agony.

It didn't come.

"I'll call you when I next have work for you," she said, releasing him with a soft pat. "I'll also be sure to have Roman wire over your payment for this job, as well as something a little extra as a sign of gratitude."

"Thank you."

"It is the least I can do." She paused and glanced back. "Your weapon. What happened to it?"

"I lost it in the fight."

She hummed. "Will that be a problem?"

"No. It's easily replaced."

Cinder smiled again.

"Just how I like it. Until next time, John."

He nodded and turned away, presenting his back to her. Each step was faster than the one before, each taken with his muscles tense and his heart thumping in his chest. When he reached the door, he paused. When nothing came, he opened it and stepped outside.

Only when it closed behind him did he sag forward, hands falling to his knees as he panted. The adrenaline, or the sudden lack of it, crashed down on him. Everything flashed before his eyes. The police, the Agent, the gunfire, the smoke. It overwhelmed him.

He staggered to a nearby alleyway and fell to his knees, throwing up onto the uncaring concrete floor. In the distance, the city of Vale was in panic, its distant sirens the panicked screams of what could otherwise have been a peaceful night.

/-/

The cold water dripped from her body as she crawled out of the river up onto solid ground. Her armour vented and hissed, detecting the change in atmosphere and releasing used air, drawing in fresh oxygen that she gulped greedily of. Her visor crackled, displaying rows and rows of information, a map of the city, a projected map of her quarry's route – but little else. They had already escaped her.

Their information had been faulty. They'd known nothing of this woman who wielded such unbelievable power.

The gravel ahead of her crunched as someone approached. She clenched one hand into a fist, prepared to strike them down and escape. The figure stopped, however. Two black shoes entered her vision not five metres away.

But it was the familiar voice which made her pause.

"This isn't how I expected you to make a visit."

Her masked face rose. The green hair was distinctive enough, even if the stern face and sharp eyes would not have given him away. Bartholomew Oobleck, Director of the Vale Secret Service. His arms were crossed, and his head tilted to the side as he stared down at her.

"I contacted ASF command through secure channels to update them on our mission in the area. They assured me they had contacted you to cancel yours."

"I did not receive that transmission," she said.

"Convenient."

"Was it?" she asked. "I did not expect to encounter one of your agents on my mission."

"Strange that you would know he was one of ours had the transmission not been received."

The insinuation was clear but she ignored it. "He fought like you. It was hard to miss."

"And yet you continued your mission," Oobleck challenged. "Did you not think to pull back once you realised this was a VSS-sanctioned mission? You might have cost my Agent his cover."

"If anything, I enhanced it."

Oobleck's face hardened. "Don't play games with me, Agent."

"No games," she said, very aware that armour or not the man before her _could_ kill her. She knew that first-hand. "But you must understand that I am no longer under your command, mentor. I am an Agent of Atlas, not Vale."

"And yet you're not so strong that I can't bend you over my knee, my dear." He said. When she didn't challenge that fact he turned away, gesturing to an unmarked car parked nearby. The passenger door was open. "Come. I have a vehicle waiting that will take you to a safe house. You may make it your own for now."

"That is generous of you."

"Not nearly as much as you believe."

"Is this where the catch comes in?"

"In a manner of speaking. I have already spoken to your handler. For the duration of your stay in Vale, you are to answer to myself and the VSS. No more unsanctioned missions, my dear. We shall pool our resources." He smirked. "I'll introduce you to your new partner later."

"You want me to work with the man I just fought."

"Yes. Is that so strange?"

"One might say so. He didn't seem all that impressive."

"And yet he defeated you."

"He did not," she snapped. Her eyes narrowed. "He was easily bested until _she_ showed up."

"So, he held you off until reinforcements arrived and forced you to retreat," Oobleck said with a frustratingly reasonable voice. "That would seem to me like he achieved his objective, my dear. You were at odds and his goal was achieved, not yours. My Agent bested you."

Her temper flared but she controlled it easily, all too used to a stern telling-off when such happened. Her face became a calm mask, even below her actual one. "If you say so, Director. I am to work under you, then?"

"Those are your orders, yes."

The meeting between them was recorded, of course. Recorded and sent back to her handler. A message appeared over her visor, the words read in an instant as they were provided directly to her. After she'd categorised them, the connection between her and her original handler was cut.

She stood, and nodded.

"Very well. I suppose I will be answering to you, Director."

Oobleck smiled. "Just like old times, my dear. If you are working with us, you will need your own codename."

"I am Agent ID41576."

"Atlas," he sighed, shaking his head. "So predictable. Henceforth that is not your codename. For the extension of your stay in Vale, your codename will be `Crane`."

A bird, long-necked and prolific, opportunistic-feeders that would migrate to a warmer climate when the snow set in, much like she had from Atlas to Vale. She hated the name instantly, but from what she recalled, that had always been something her mentor took an annoying pleasure in. She sighed and shook her head, surrendering to his silly manner.

"As you wish, Director. Agent Crane at your command."

"Very good. I will introduce you to Agent Rat another time."

"Rat?" She sighed. "Don't cranes _eat_ rats, sir?"

"Why yes. I do believe they do. I hope you'll refrain in front of myself, however."

Crane sighed and shook her head.

/-/

Tired didn't even begin to explain how he felt when he returned to Beacon. It was already long past time he should have been back, which meant travel by Bullhead wasn't just impossible, but would surely get him in trouble. The only option was the mundane approach, which involved over an hour of jogging through Grimm-infested forest and climbing over terrain one might have generously called rough, and realistically called awful.

He was covered in sweat by the time he made it back.

And someone was waiting for him.

"How often are you going to keep doing this?" Blake asked, catching and supporting him before he could fall.

"W-What do you mean?"

"I saw you on the news. I thought spies were meant to be subtle."

He tried to think up a good excuse but only managed an exhausted huff instead. What was there to say? "It had to be done. It's for the good of Vale."

"But what about your good?"

"What do you mean? I'm alive."

She sighed and shook her head, supporting him as they made their way back to the academy proper. "Never mind. If anyone asks you can say we were training." She smirked at him. "At least that way it's believable that you'd look like you went through a meat grinder while I'm fresh as a daisy."

"Rude," he half-gasped, half-laughed. "I'm not that bad." He sighed and accepted her help, however. "Thanks, though. I'm too spent to think of any good lies."

"I'll say. I hope whatever you learned tonight was worth it. If this carries on I'm not sure how long it'll be until you snap under the pressure." Blake shot him a wary look. "Most people would be exhausted just doing your job, let alone doing it _after_ seven or eight hours of huntsman training and lessons."

"It's worth it," he said.

He wasn't sure how, but the gains were definitely worth the risk, especially now that it was over and he hadn't been killed – either by the police _or_ Cinder. They knew where the Paladin was being kept, and hopefully he'd wormed his way even further into their enemy's inner circle.

"Hm. I'll take your word for it."

The two of them moved into the building and through the corridors. Even as late as it was there were several people still moving around, though none looked too suspiciously at them. Seeing someone injured coming from the direction of the Emerald Forest wasn't too odd. Late-night training, while unusual, wasn't unheard of.

"There has to be some way I can help," Blake suddenly said. "Not just research, but actually helping. You're working your way into exhaustion and sooner or later you're going to make a mistake. I know we don't exactly trust one another, but I hope you can tell I'm being honest when I say I don't want you to die."

"I know. I don't want you to die either," he said. "It's just… Oobleck would never trust you – and with good reason. I've already broken so many rules telling you what you already know. What more can I do? I can't exactly make you VSS and since you can't go on any official missions with me, there isn't much I can do."

"You're working undercover with Torchwick," Blake said. When he nodded, knowing it was pretty obvious by this point, she continued. "I could help you."

"Leaving aside the fact the VSS wouldn't trust you, I'm not sure Roman would either. I got in through something of a recommendation."

"Then do the same for me."

"I can't." When her frown deepened, he sighed. "Look Blake, it's not that I don't want you to help me. Believe me, I'd love to have someone I could trust over there, I really would. But it's not as easy as me randomly saying I happen to know a girl who is huntress-trained but who _totally_ wants to help and should be trusted with no explanation. They'd never fall for it."

"What if I came recommended as well?"

"I don't know," he said, shrugging. "It wouldn't work if I tried to recommend you. I guess it would be a completely separate thing, but there's no telling if they'd accept you, or if we'd even work on the same jobs." They might both just end up exhausted, or dead. He shook his head. "Leave it be, Blake. There's nothing I can do."

She held his gaze for the longest time, and he expected an argument at any moment. Eventually, however, she nodded.

"Okay."

"That's it? No arguments?"

"None."

He blinked, surprised. "You're sure?"

"Absolutely."

Something about her tone had his eyes narrowing, but she held his gaze with a perfectly calm expression. There wasn't a hint of deceit in her eyes, and eventually he nodded. "Thanks, Blake. I know it's not easy, but this'll work out."

"I'm sure it will, Jaune. I'm sure it will."

He failed to notice the hand she kept behind her back, or her crossed fingers.

* * *

 **Busy weekend, mostly due to this event I have to plan and populate in a matter of weeks. We've gone from 0 nominations and 6 guests to 32 nominations and 50 guests but it's still not enough – so I've been working over the weekend on that when I'd normally be writing.**

 **Hence why this came out so late in the day, really.**

 **Also sorry, but no epic Paladin fight - cough - yet - cough. This is just a transport job, though... things... may happen later, if you know what I mean.**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 21** **st** **January**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	25. Chapter 25

**Here we are, here we go, and another chapter released.**

* * *

 **Cover Art:** Kegi Springfield

 **Chapter 25**

* * *

"You're actually getting a day off?"

"I wouldn't call it a day off," Jaune said, walking beside Blake and towards the cafeteria. The two had just come from an early morning training session, except that for once it was a session they'd been able to share with Pyrrha and Ren.

It felt like they didn't get a chance to spend time together as a team, and he knew that was mostly his fault. Pyrrha had been thrilled at the chance and given them all some pointers. It was kind of crazy to think that Blake had spent the last however many years fighting for her life against military and police, and yet Pyrrha could _still_ best her without breaking a sweat, but that was Pyrrha for you. She was beyond even what a championship fighter should have been.

Either way, he'd come out the worst, mostly by being the weakest, and needed to spend more time in the showers to watch off all his grime and sweat. Ren had come off the better and left earlier, promising to save him a seat.

When Jaune finally left the showers, it was to find that Pyrrha had done the same, while Blake had waited – ostensibly to look after her partner, though he knew it was really out of the hope he'd let something slip and inform her of things he shouldn't.

"Apart from having to watch Ruby, I mean," Blake said. "I know you're technically working even at Beacon, but as long as Ruby doesn't do anything ridiculous it's as good as a day off for you. To be honest I'm not even sure what your lot expects Ruby to do."

"I don't know. A day off where I have schoolwork and homework doesn't _feel_ like a holiday."

Blake smirked and elbowed his side. "Quit whining. You chose this life."

That he had, though to be fair there'd been no mention of _this_ in those promotional shows and books about being a huntsman. Blake had a point, however. As much as he was supposed to look over Ruby, even Oobleck didn't seem to believe there was anything _wrong_ with the fifteen-year-old. She was hard-working, determined, and very blunt in her desire to be a hero – and unless she was the _best_ liar ever to grace the surface of Remnant, he believed her.

"I don't expect her to do anything. I trust her."

"Which means it's not _her_ who has drawn the VSS' attention. It's someone around her. Yang, maybe? No, that doesn't sound right, and I doubt it's Weiss or Nora."

"Who says it's anything?"

Blake rolled her eyes. It was obvious she wasn't going to fall for that and he regretted giving her the tiny hint he had already. She really was too analytical for him to be dropping hints for.

"Does Oobleck suspect me yet?" Blake suddenly asked.

"Huh? Not that I know of. He hasn't even mentioned you."

"I'm not sure if that makes me feel better or not." Blake bit her lip.

"Shouldn't it be a good thing?"

"Maybe. I don't know." She sighed and ran a hand through her hair, shooting him an accusing glance that seemed to say she wasn't used to such candid conversation and that it was somehow his fault she was being put through it. "It just strikes me as odd. I'm your partner in Beacon and you're his spy. I'd have expected him to do background checks on your teammates."

"Maybe he did. I doubt yours has `White Fang` written on your job history in big letters."

"No, but it may have other things. My family name is… never mind. Let's just say there are things which might make people attach me to the White Fang if they looked deep enough. I never expected it to come up since I didn't think anyone would but looking into things is kind of a spy's job."

Jaune paused and looked to his partner. "You're worried?"

Blake looked away. "Can you blame me? I keep waiting for him to say or do something to me, or for me to fall asleep and never wake up."

"Do you wish you never found out?"

"A little," she admitted. "I know it's my fault. I'm the one who pushed you, but… yes, sometimes I wish I never had. It wouldn't make the threat any less but not knowing would have let me sleep a little easier."

He wasn't sure what to say. She had been the one to force the truth out of him so in a way she had no one but herself to blame. On the other hand, she hadn't exactly had much of a choice, especially when she found him investigating the train wreck she'd been a part of.

"For what it's worth I honestly believe you when you say you want to start afresh," he said. "I don't think you're a bad person. You just made some poor choices. You're hardly the first person to do that."

"I appreciate it. I want to make things right. I want to change things for the better…"

"I believe you."

Blake's shoulders relaxed a little and she nodded gratefully as they continued on. With breakfast in full flow the halls were mostly empty and the silence between them, while not uncomfortable, felt all-encompassing. He noticed Blake teasing her lower lip with her teeth. Something was bothering her still, but he wasn't sure what to say. Even had he been good with girls and feelings it would have still been an incredibly complicated situation.

"Would you defend me if they tried to kill me?"

Jaune hesitated. "What do you mean?"

"If Oobleck and the others tried to kill me, or if they ordered you to do it." She didn't meet his eyes. "Would you go ahead with it?"

"They won't."

"You don't know that. They might. What would you do? Would you help me?"

"Yes, of course!"

"Why?" she asked. "You work for them and they're trying to protect Vale, or so they claim. Even if I regret it I was still a terrorist. In the eyes of the law I'm still guilty."

"Maybe, but you're my partner."

"And that would be enough to make you turn on Oobleck?"

The question made him pause. "I… I don't know…" He didn't like the answer, nor his indecision. "I trust them, I really do, but I trust you too – at least on this. I _know_ you're telling the truth and I know you're innocent."

"But they may ask you to make a choice someday."

"Then I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. So far, they've not asked me to go against anyone who isn't evil in some way. Torchwick, Cinder and the White Fang. I honestly don't know what I'll do if they ask me to hurt someone else like you or Ruby." He wasn't sure he'd be able to do it, even if he knew they'd never let him get away with _not_ doing it. "The VSS is why I'm where I am today, but that doesn't mean they get to make every decision in my life. I'm still my own person. If they asked me to hurt someone I didn't believe deserved it…? I think I'd say no, whatever consequences that entails."

Blake stared at him for the longest moment, perhaps trying to figure out whether he was lying to make her feel better. He held her gaze, until eventually, she looked away. "You really mean that," she marvelled. "You're… I don't know whether to say you're brave and dedicated or foolish and naïve."

"Can't I just be me?"

"Maybe." She shot him a look, and this time it was with one of her patented smirks. "I suppose I'll have to accept that for now. It won't be as easy to do that as say it, but I believe that you honestly feel that way, so I'll let it be. Thank you again."

"No problem. You're my partner, Blake." He patted her shoulder as they approached the cafeteria. "I know we don't always get along, but I like to think that's work coming between us. Not anything wrong with either of us personally."

"Ha. That's not a bad metaphor."

The two of them stopped talking about such dangerous topics as the doors to the cafeteria opened, revealing a scene of organised chaos as all the students of Beacon stuffed their faces for the day ahead. Rows upon rows of tables dotted the large, well-lit, room, and a section toward the back held a steel counter behind which fifteen people worked to provide meals.

It didn't take long to spot their team, not with Nora and Ruby waving excitedly at them – one a little more obvious than the other since Ruby's hand, even when raised, didn't really crest the press of bodies around them. He waved back and the two of them wandered over.

"How was your training, Jaune?" Ruby asked when he sat down opposite her and next to Blake. "Pyrrha told us you all did a morning training. How did it go?"

"I'd say I learned a few things," he replied, rubbing his neck. "Mostly how to fall, but also how to take a javelin to the stomach. I'll have it mastered in a few days."

The table laughed and Pyrrha covered her mouth with one hand. "You weren't _that_ bad," she said. "I'm just used to picking out holes in people's defences. You gave me a run for my lien."

That was a lie and it wasn't just he who knew it, especially if Weiss' eye roll and Ren's snort was any indication. Pyrrha flushed and tried to defend the comment but she needn't have bothered. He didn't feel particularly ashamed to have been bested by the girl who was hands-down the strongest fighter in the entire year. She could have probably gone toe-to-toe with some of the higher years as well.

"We almost gave her a run three on one," Ren said, driving Pyrrha's blush even further as he pointed out her white lie.

"Almost," Blake drawled. "She might even have sweated a little before she annihilated us. _Might_."

"Sounds fun," Yang cackled. She nudged the embarrassed champion with her elbow. "We ought to do team fights or something, or the two of could spar. I'm getting a little tired of beating my team every time we train."

"Didn't I pin you to a wall with one of my glyphs the last time?" Weiss asked.

"Nope."

"I'm fairly sure I-"

"Nope," Yang repeated, face steady. "You probably imagined it."

"I don't think I did…"

"Yang's really competitive," Ruby whispered to him, leaning over with a hand over her mouth. "She normally wins but Weiss caught her off-guard."

"Does Yang always beat you and Nora?" he asked.

"Most of the time." Ruby didn't seem too upset to admit that, as well she shouldn't since she was two years younger. "I can usually keep her at a distance, but we have to use ring-out rules because of the lack of space, so she forces me out. Nora… she can keep up with Yang, but she always forgets about Yang's semblance. She goes in with her hammer, and Yang sends it back twice as hard."

He winced. Yeah, that sounded about right. From what he'd seen Nora was strong, but not exactly the most tactical of opponents. In that regard she and Ren made for a good team. Pyrrha would probably be able to beat her, though, but Yang might have been able to eke out a victory if she kept her semblance secret and broke it out in a spar. Sadly, Pyrrha already knew it from watching Yang spar in Miss Goodwitch's class.

Conversely, no one had been able to get a hold on Pyrrha's, which was a pretty big advantage for her, and probably also an annoying point for many who had lost to her even after using their semblances.

 _Speaking of, I've still got no idea what mine is. It would be pretty cool if it was something that helped me out with the VSS, but I'd take something combat-related if it was on offer._ Then again, even if he did get a semblance there was a fair chance he wouldn't be allowed to show it in both roles. They tended to be recognisable. In fact, Oobleck probably preferred him not having one.

"There's still no sign of Cardin," Pyrrha said.

The comment, barely a whisper, silenced the table entirely. Everyone's heads dipped, and no one dared say a word. Yang swallowed and looked around the cafeteria.

"No sign of his team," she whispered.

"They haven't shown up since he went missing," Weiss said. "I think they're still looking for him."

"Still holding out hope," Ren added. "I heard the teachers combed the Emerald Forest yesterday. Even the headmaster was out searching."

"I feel sorry for them," Nora said.

Weiss sighed. "I think we all do. It can't be easy losing someone like that. I know being a huntsman is a dangerous job, but for someone to go missing from Beacon? That's…"

"You just don't expect it," Yang said.

Weiss nodded.

Jaune stared at the table. What little appetite he'd worked up vanished in an instant, replaced with a sickening hole that threatened to swallow everything. Beneath the table he felt Blake's knee nudge against his own, a tiny gesture of support. She didn't look at him, however, she was too subtle for that. Even so, his hands clenched into fists beneath the table. Vanguard…

"Nothing's been announced yet," Ruby said. "He could still be okay. We can't give up hope."

"Yeah," Yang agreed. "Maybe you're right, sis."

They weren't. Cardin wouldn't be coming back. But there was no way he could say that. Gods, how did Oobleck manage to put up with this? He must have lost more people in his time, yet he managed to maintain his façade perfectly.

The thoughts continued to swirl in his head as the others ate mechanically, conversation dulled as they each thought about the loss of one of their classmates, even if he wasn't a particularly popular one. Blake nibbled on an apple but that was all she could manage, and she hadn't been the one to stand and watch as Cardin sacrificed himself.

"Come on," Yang said when it was clear they'd all had all they could. "We should get to class. At least Port's stories will distract us."

"That's not a bad idea," Pyrrha agreed.

The rest thought so too, clearly, for no one argued when they stood and made their way off towards the classroom. Jaune hovered near the back with Blake and took a few deep breaths. He had to remind himself that Cardin would have had his head if he broke his mask now. He was Vanguard through and through, and the best way he could pay the man back was by completing his mission and bringing Cinder and her crew to justice.

The thought cheered him a little. He'd do his friend proud.

"Ruby!" a voice yelled happily.

"Eh? Wait, you're here!?" Ruby dashed off to the side randomly, no doubt recognising the person. The others turned too, though he couldn't make out much due to everyone being in front of him. He heard vague snippets, however. "I didn't think you'd be coming to Beacon so soon!"

"It wasn't planned, Ruby. I had an accident and father thought it best if I stay here for now. I'm not really good to head back home yet."

"How long are you staying for?"

"Until after the Vytal Festival. Isn't that amazing? We can spend so much time together!"

"That's great!"

"Yeah," Yang mumbled, not quite as enthused. "That'll be great. Sheesh…"

"Good luck," Ren returned, chuckling.

"Who is it?" Jaune asked. He hadn't known Ruby really had many friends in Beacon, let alone ones not on either of their teams. According to Yang she'd always been socially awkward and the only friends she'd had before would still be in Signal.

Yang, hearing his question, grinned at him. "Oi, Ruby," she called. "Jaune hasn't met your friend yet. If I recall, Blake and he were off sorting out their little argument and didn't get the full _pleasure_ of an introduction."

"They didn't?" Ruby asked.

Yang chuckled and nudged him in the ribs. "Bet you'll wish you kept your mouth shut after this."

"Yang," Pyrrha chastised. "She isn't _that_ bad."

Who, why, or what they were talking about went ignored as the team parted in front of him to better let Ruby come and introduce her friend to he and Blake. The faunus glanced at him questioningly but he shrugged his shoulders. He had no idea.

"This is Blake and Jaune," Ruby said, tugging someone behind her. "They're not on my team but they're cool. You didn't really meet them last time because they were sorting some things out between them. Guys, this is my friend from Atlas."

She pulled the figure in front of her.

"Say hi, Penny!"

"Salutations!" the pale and dying corpse chirped.

Jaune's legs buckled under him.

/-/

Blake's breath caught in her throat and she might have choked on it. Would have, and drawn suspicion on herself, if Jaune hadn't so _masterfully_ taken control of the situation by fainting right next to her. Pyrrha gasped and moved forward but the girl in front of them – who Blake had personally seen be brutally murdered – caught him before he hit the floor. She snatched him by his shoulders, propped his limp body before her, and then turned to Ruby with an apologetic expression.

"I'm sorry, friend-Ruby. I appear to have broken your boyfriend."

"Bwa-?" Blake managed. She was glad no one was paying attention to her.

"Wha!? Penny, no! He's not my boyfriend!" Ruby yelped, _really_ missing the important part of the whole situation. She seemed to realise it too and shook her head. "And what happened to Jaune!?"

"Did he just faint?" Yang asked. "Wow, I knew there'd be _some_ reaction, but I didn't expect this."

"Yang! Fainting is serious," Weiss snapped. She strode forward and touched her fingers to Jaune's neck. "He's breathing and has a pulse, but his skin feels hot to the touch. Penny, did you see what happened?"

"I did not," the girl who had died replied. "He saw me, and his eyes widened and then he fell. Is there something abhorrent about my appearance?"

It was too much. Blake wondered what would happen if she fainted as well, but she wasn't the kind of person to do that and she hadn't been as close to ground zero as Jaune had. He'd literally seen this girl killed in front of his eyes, while fighting him, and then be left for dead. Now that she thought about it she'd seen a car pull up and collect her, but she hadn't expected something like this. Who did!?

Even so, she stepped forward to snatch her partner from the girl. "The training from this morning must have caught up with him," she lied.

Luckily, Pyrrha was quick to buy it. "He didn't have any food, either," she lamented. "I didn't think anything of it since we were talking about Cardin, but he didn't even have an apple or a drink of water."

"Dehydration," Weiss nodded, "or just fatigue. What an idiot. Still, he should be fine if he gets some rest and something forced down him."

"Should we wake him up?" Ruby asked.

"You can't just wake someone up from fainting, you dolt. He'll wake up on his own, but we should lay him down somewhere. The infirmary would be best."

"That's on the other side of Beacon."

"Well what else are we supposed to do!?"

"Ahem." Someone coughed behind them. "What seems to be the problem here?" The calm voice cut through the panic, though the sight of who it was didn't quite do the same for Blake's, especially since her eyes widened and she had to fight the urge to take a step back.

"Doctor Oobleck!" Ruby yelped. "You're a Doctor! Jaune fainted. Help."

"Mr Arc fainted?" The tall teacher stepped forward. He reached for Jaune. "If you'll excuse me, Miss Belladonna, may I see him for a moment?"

"Yes, of course." She tried not to flinch as she handed him over. The spy-turned-teacher made no sign he'd noticed anything wrong and took Jaune from her, lowering him down onto the ground. He then turned him over so that he was laid on his side.

"Though I have a PhD, I'm not a doctor in the medical sense," he said.

"So, you can't help?" Ruby asked.

"Now, Miss Rose. I didn't say that. Although I wouldn't be able to offer a prognosis to any subtle ails or ills, all the teachers at Beacon are required to have a strong grasp of first aid and emergency medical treatment." He chuckled and tilted Jaune's head up to clear the airway. "It's something of a requirement given how often you students seem to enjoy injuring one another. All too many people believe aura a catch-all defence. It's easy for students to take spars and duels a little far, especially when emotions and tempers run high."

Everyone nodded, and Blake would have accepted his excuse as well if she didn't know better. She wondered if his medical knowledge was less to help students and more to keep prisoners alive long enough to get information out of them.

"Hm, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with him. Did anything unusual happen before he fainted?"

"We were training all morning," Pyrrha said, "and Jaune didn't have any breakfast afterwards."

Oobleck nodded. "Ah, that clears up this little mystery, then. I'll place Mr Arc in my office and allow him a chance to recover. I don't have any lessons for my first period, so feel free to come back and check on him once your lesson is over. I will keep an eye on him until then."

"Will he be okay?" Ruby asked.

"He will be absolutely fine, Miss Rose. Just a little case of over-exertion mixed with not enough sustenance. This happens all the time. People push themselves too hard." He knelt and picked Jaune up easily. "Head to your lessons, now. I'm sure Professor Port is waiting for you."

There was nothing she could do but keep her head down as everyone else agreed. It wasn't like Oobleck would harm one of his own men, and if she believed Jaune – which she had to – then he wouldn't rat her out.

In all honesty he'd likely be too rattled by Ruby's friend to even mention her…

"I'm glad to see your boyfriend is safe, Ruby," Penny said. "I was afraid that I had hurt him."

"Jaune will be fine, Penny. A-And I told you, he's not my boyfriend."

The girl was fine, at least as far as Blake could tell. Her eyes were bright, her skin a healthy tone, and she looked warm enough to the touch. One thing caught Blake's eye, however. Penny had a thick scarf wrapped around her neck, one that was the same colour as her Atlas uniform, but obviously not a part of it.

"Did something happen to your neck?" Blake asked. Everyone turned to stare at her. "I mean because of this," she said, indicating for her own throat. "It just seems like a strange thing for someone to wear on a hot day."

"I have a doctor's note for it," Penny said, unperturbed. "I had an accident a few days ago and hurt myself. This is to cover the bruises."

"Oh no," Ruby gasped. "Are you okay?"

"It was not a bad injury. Don't worry, Ruby. I'm combat ready!"

Not a bad injury…? Blake had personally seen a sword shoved through her throat, directly through the back and pierce out the front – a strike that would have severed numerous arteries, and maybe even break her spinal column if it were strong enough. That was no light injury and definitely not something you walked away from, let alone hid under a scarf when you attended school not two weeks after you got it.

And what was a girl randomly doing at the docks when criminal and terrorists were stealing dust? More so when the authorities hadn't been alerted and there had been no suspicious signs to draw anyone's attention.

No. There was something going on here. She knew it.

 _And yet again I'm dragged into another conspiracy,_ she thought. It really would have been easier if she'd just not noticed Jaune sneaking off in Forever Fall. Sure, she'd still be in danger, but ignorance really was bliss. _I should have fainted before Jaune did. Asshole took the easy way out._

At least _he_ didn't have to deal with the walking dead.

/-/

"I think I saw a ghost…"

"Do calm down, Jaune," Oobleck said. "Here, have a drink."

A glass was pushed into his hands and he took it, recognising the colour and smell and taking a healthy sip. The alcohol burned its way down his throat, waking him up instantly. It gave his mind the clarity he needed, even if he dreaded to imagine what his mother would say if she heard him thinking that at what was probably not even ten in the morning.

Sadly, clarity came with its own problems. The face of the girl who'd died because of him flashed once more before his eyes, except this time with Neo's rapier protruding from her throat. Oobleck caught the glass before it could shatter on the floor and watched as Jaune gripped his head with both hands.

"I saw… no, I… I'm sure of it."

"You are sure of what, Jaune? Be specific."

"Was I with my team when you found me?" He looked up, and Oobleck nodded. "Was there a girl there, orange hair but not Nora, dressed in a grey and white uniform?"

"There was a young woman in an Atlas school uniform, yes. I'm told she is an early addition for the Vytal Festival. She came to Vale for a weekend but suffered an injury. Because they did not wish to transport her home, Ozpin offered to host her here until the festival." The older man moved over to place the glass down on his desk. "That is what the headmaster told me, anyway. I had my doubts, even before your… rather visceral reaction. Tell me what startled you."

"She should be dead!"

Oobleck paused. "What do you mean?"

"She was the one who interfered at the docks," he explained, going through the whole story again. Oobleck had received a report on it before of course, but he focused on Penny's appearance at the end, obviously leaving Blake out of it. "I saw her be killed," he finished. "I saw her lying dead on the floor."

"Could you have been mistaken? She _did_ claim to have been injured."

"She took a rapier straight through the back of the throat. It shot out the front!" He shivered at the memory. "I watched Neo _wrench_ it out of her, and then dump her on the floor. She wasn't moving. No one could survive that."

"Some could have," Oobleck countered. "But you're not wrong to be suspicious. The treatment required would take some time, not to speak of rehabilitation. There's also the question of why she would have been there in the first place, though I imagine that with the recent revelations, that has been answered."

"What do you mean?"

"Atlas, Rat," he said. "I mean Atlas. The Agent that interfered in your mission yesterday has revealed herself to me and will be working with us in the future. It's possible this `Penny` girl is of a similar vein, or at least has an allegiance to Atlas."

"Is she the Agent?"

"No. Or at least she is not _the_ Agent you saw. I have no knowledge as to whether she is ASF or not but given the fact she attacked you without a disguise, I would think not." Oobleck sighed. "Attacking in so obvious a manner is something more befitting a huntress, possibly even a student. Those your age do tend to stick their noses where they really shouldn't, much to the frustration of many."

"There's something going on with her," Jaune said.

"I agree, and I believe this ties back into Ozpin and his unusual relationship with General Ironwood once more. Sadly, I don't think our ally from the ASF will be too keen to investigate such a lead."

"Why not?"

"General Ironwood is a valuable individual to Atlas. Not even I would not dare imagine he would actually do something to harm his country. That is the kind of man he is. That's not to say he might not be manipulated or fooled by Ozpin, or that they might not be working on something else entirely."

"What like?"

"I don't know, but my initial investigations into Ozpin have been… odd, to say the least. His history pre-Beacon is sketchy, not to mention irrelevant to being a huntsman, let alone a teacher for one. By all records he was a simple teenager who showed no inclination for this kind of life. Then, suddenly, he showed a marked and dramatic improvement, quickly rising in renown until he took over Beacon at an oddly young age."

Jaune blinked at the deluge of information, all of it suspicious, even to him. "That's… weird…"

"Indeed. I am not exaggerating, either. Ozpin went from being an average individual with no skill as a huntsman to being exceptionally skilled and powerful for his age, much of this without any discernible training or education. If I'd been Director back then I'd have certainly found such suspicious, and maybe even believed someone had killed and replaced the original Ozpin. It's that strange."

It was, but he wasn't sure what they could do with the information. Ozpin was entrenched in his position now and hadn't really done anything to draw their ire. He was shady, sure. That clandestine meeting with Ironwood said as much, not to mention that strange package that had been delivered, but he hadn't raised any flags since then.

Or had they just been too distracted by Cinder to notice them?

"Leave the headmaster to me for now," Oobleck said. "Leave your strange new friend to me as well. I feel the two are connected."

"What should I do, then? Focus on Ruby?"

"No. I have a different task in mind for you. You've had a chance to meet the Agent from Atlas, no?"

"If by meet you mean nearly get killed by, then sure."

"I'm sure that if she'd wanted you dead you would be," Oobleck chuckled. "When I questioned her, she said she didn't receive the transmission about conflicting missions. It was an unfortunate accident."

Jaune's voice was flat. "Atlas, the kingdom most well-known for their advanced technology, suffered a glitch that didn't send a transmission through to her?" He scowled. "I find that hard to believe."

"My, Jaune. How cynical of you." He didn't seem upset by it. "You're probably correct, though. They made the choice to continue the mission and risk costing us your position as mole. In their eyes it was worth the chance to recover the Paladin. Ultimately it doesn't matter as Cinder appears to have taken it as proof of your integrity."

"There are other problems, however." Oobleck continued. He pushed a newspaper across the desk.

Jaune took it and skimmed the cover and didn't need to look any further than that – or read a single word. The image, grainy as it was, showed a chase between a lorry, several police cars, and two Bullheads. Below it, in small boxes, were two images – one of Emerald and one of himself, or their faces. His was a panicked and startled look behind the wheel.

"Seriously?" he sighed. "Why couldn't they have used the image of me on top of the Paladin? I look like a complete idiot here."

"Good to see your priorities are in order. It was bound to happen eventually, but your identity is firmly out now, or John White's anyway. This will make things easier and harder. Your ability to move around uncontested will be effectively null."

"But Roman and Cinder will trust me a lot more since I'm practically doomed," he finished. "As far as they're concerned my only choice is to stick with them now."

"Precisely. It's not what we would have wished for, but it's what has happened. We will have to make the most of it for now."

Jaune rolled up the newspaper and threw it back on Oobleck's desk. "If that stupid Agent from Atlas hadn't interfered then this wouldn't have happened," he growled. "Please tell me you're punishing her in some way."

"Ahem, Rat-"

"Send her on a crappy mission, or just send her far away where she can't cause any more trouble for us. If she comes to Vale she should know she has to play by our rules, not interfere and ruin everything. Who does she think she is?"

"Rat," Oobleck repeated, this time with a more urgent tone.

"Seriously, if I never see that idiot again, it'll be too soon," he finished, crossing his arms over his chest.

He paused as he noticed Oobleck sat with his head in one hand, sighing through his fingers. The man's eyes were fixed a little above and behind Jaune. There was a certain despair to his expression, not to mention his tone.

Jaune sighed.

"She's behind me, isn't she?"

"I am," a rather angry voice replied.

"She's been there since I started," Jaune said. "Hasn't she?"

"She has," Oobleck confirmed.

"She heard everything, didn't she?"

"I did," the voice snapped.

Wonderful…

Oobleck stood in an effort to regain control of the conversation and limit any damage, most of which Jaune felt had probably already been done. "I'd like to take the moment to introduce you to your new partner, Rat. The Agent from Atlas, who we have codenamed Crane, will be working alongside you for the foreseeable future. Because this is already an unusual situation, and because she has seen your face, I made the decision to introduce you both without disguises, otherwise I'm sure Crane would have discovered yours in time, if only through observation."

"I still do not agree to this," the girl behind him said.

"And again, your concerns are noted," Oobleck said.

"Noted and discarded, I see."

"Indeed. I'm glad we've come to an agreement on the matter." It didn't sound like agreement, especially not if the hitch in the girl's breath was any indication. Oobleck smiled and took hold of Jaune's seat, spinning him around. "Jaune, meet your new partner for the conceivable future. I'm sure the two of you will get along splendidly."

The girl took one look at him and snorted. "He doesn't look like much."

"That's a part of his charm, Crane."

`Crane` didn't look all that impressed with Oobleck's remark, nor him if he was to be honest. She glared down at him with her arms crossed and one leg linked behind the other. She wasn't a tall girl, much of that having apparently been the suit she wore when fighting, but she certainly matched the stern and militaristic image he'd imagined. She had bright blue eyes and short black hair that fell neatly on both sides of her face, one part pushing behind an ear and the other hanging loose. Her skin was a rich chocolate and he would have called her pretty, if not for the _utter_ disdain on her face.

She didn't like him. That much was clear.

If he was being honest, he didn't much like her either.

"You interfered in my mission," the girl said.

Jaune's eyes narrowed. "You interfered in mine."

"See?" Oobleck said, clapping his hands together, "You already have so much in common. I'm sure you'll be fast friends in a matter of hours, and the closest of allies soon after."

"Director, I don't need a partner," Jaune complained. "I'm mostly doing undercover work. She'd be no use anyway."

"Considering how you fought when last we met, I'd say you need more than one partner," the girl mumbled.

"What was that?"

"Should I repeat myself to you? I was under the impression that Agents of the VSS were attentive. Perhaps you are the outlier."

"And I was under the impression it's an Agent's job to _succeed_ at their missions," he sniped back, earning an immediate scowl from the girl. "Maybe you're not the outlier at all," he went on. "After all, if the ASF can't even patch a transmission through, then maybe you're all as useless as they say."

"Children, children!" Oobleck stepped between them before anything more could be said. "I will politely ask that you refrain from flirting in my office. I prefer to keep it hormone-free where possible." He was impervious to the glares of both of them. "Now that you've had a chance to get the foreplay out of the way, I'll introduce you both. Jaune Arc, student of Beacon and Agent of the Vale Secret Service, and Ciel Soleil, student of Atlas and Agent of the Atlas Special Forces."

Ciel looked down her nose at him. "A pleasure, I'm sure."

"It's all yours," Jaune returned. He glowered at Oobleck. "I already have a partner."

"Magician is still out of action, Jaune, and Vanguard has fallen. We need to work together in these hard times, and I'd rather the two of you didn't have a repeat encounter of your last mission. As such, you will be partners from this point moving forward." His tone had become serious, and the words contained an obvious message that both of them had best be prepared to `deal with it`, or he would force them. "As such, Ciel Soleil has been sent here as an addition to Penny Polendina, who Ciel assures us she has no information on."

"She is an unknown," Ciel confirmed.

"Despite Ciel being Penny's partner at Atlas," Oobleck continued – quite sarcastically.

The girl, to her credit, didn't let the accusation phase her. "I was not instructed to investigate my teammates and so have not. My missions were of a different nature, and my sending to Vale was unrelated to Penny. Or rather she served as my _excuse_ for coming to Vale, but nothing further."

"I'll choose to believe that for now," Oobleck said. "Regardless, it's important the two of you get on well, particularly if we're to complete our joint objectives of both stopping Cinder Fall _and_ reclaiming the stolen Paladin for Atlas." He put particular emphasis on the latter half, making it clear to Jaune he was to pretend that had been their focus all along. It seemed Ciel wasn't the only one telling a few fat lies. "As such, I trust the two of you can put your early animosity aside and work together."

Jaune's shoulders sagged. If it was for the betterment of Vale…

"I will do so," Ciel said. "You have nothing to worry about, Director."

"Yeah, we'll be okay," he agreed. "It'll take some getting used to, but I think we'll manage." He hoped so, anyway.

"Perfect," Oobleck said. "Well, I suppose now is as good a time as any to say that Miss Soleil will be bunking with you."

"WHAT!?"

"What!?" Ciel echoed, one hand on her chest. It was the first overt show of emotion he'd seen from her, and she looked indignant. "Sir, you cannot. This is… it is irregular, for one!"

Jaune echoed her. "It's ridiculous, you mean!"

"Well, due to a lack of space and little warning Penny has been housed with Ruby Rose from Team RYWN, and that I suggested Ciel be housed with your team." He slipped behind the desk, using it as a barrier. "After all, what better way to let the two of you become fast friends?"

Jaune and Ciel stared at the meddling old man, and then stared at one another. Ciel crossed her arms over her breasts and made her displeasure clear, but – as always – in a polite and efficient manner. She didn't so much say she didn't trust or like him as imply it. Imply it very heavily, in fact.

An ASF Agent sharing a dorm with a VSS Agent? With a VSS Agent and an ex-White Fang member? It should have been the punchline to a joke – a secret agent, special forces member and a terrorist sharing a room. It wasn't, however, and he could well imagine what Blake's reaction would be when she found out.

This was going to suck.

* * *

 **Yep, Ciel. I decided to reveal her a little earlier than most people expected, mainly because the options for Atlas agents were ridiculously limited anyway, so people were stuck guessing between her and Winter, and most people just went with Winter. It didn't make for much of a mystery and would have been particularly pointless when Winter appears later as per canon.**

 **But yes, Penny isn't dead. At least not fully dead. Maybe she's undead like Blake thinks. Never stop reading those porn stories about Ozpin, Blake. Man with two souls, anyone?**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 28** **th** **January**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	26. Chapter 26

**Here we go**

* * *

 **Cover Art:** Kegi Springfield

 **Chapter 26**

* * *

"So, you're going to be staying with us?"

"Yes," Ciel said, making a respectful nod towards Pyrrha. "I apologise for the disturbance my presence will cause, and for the inconvenience. Please rest assured that I will not require a bed and will be content to sleep on the floor. I can also make myself scarce should your team ever require some additional privacy."

Ciel's introduction to Team ABRN was going about as well as Jaune expected, which was to say Pyrrha and Ren were bemused, and Blake was staring at the new addition with something straddling the border between suspicion and outright accusation. There really hadn't been any better way to explain the situation other than to walk in, point at the dark-skinned girl, and say she'd be their new teammate for a few weeks. Or maybe there had been but the bourbon he'd had was pleasantly swimming around inside of him and he was just angry enough with Ciel so as to take some morbid pleasure putting her on the spot.

Okay, maybe the booze was affecting him more than he'd thought. That or it was the memories of just how terrified he'd been yesterday, and how that was all completely her fault. Payback was a bitch as they said, and while he normally wasn't the kind of guy to partake in it, he figured he could make an exception for someone who'd nearly gotten him killed.

"It's a little unusual," Pyrrha said, "but I suppose it's just temporary, right?"

"Until the other transfers come for the festival, yes. I shall be assigned my own room along with my team at that point."

"That's, what, two weeks?"

"That is correct, Miss Nikos."

"Please call me Pyrrha, and this is Ren and Blake." She pointed to each in turn and they waved back, if a little reluctantly on Blake's part. "If you're going to be staying with us it would be strange for you to call us by our last names."

"I suppose that is true. Please, then, call me Ciel. It is a pleasure to meet each of you."

"Would you like some help with your bags?" Ren asked.

"That is kind of you but there's no need," Ciel replied. "Jaune already offered to carry them for me."

He'd done nothing of the sort and glared at her when she said that. She didn't grace him with her attention however and unwilling to challenge her with everyone else in front of him he nodded and picked up the white cases, lifting them into the room. "You won't have all that much space for this," he said. "Not unless Ozpin gives us more cabinets and drawers."

"Hm, that will be a problem," Ren said.

Ciel nodded. "I know. That is why I'm so grateful to you for offering to let me share yours, Jaune. I'll be sure not to take up too much of your space."

Jaune's eye twitched. "That's… great. Thanks, Ciel." He'd have to shift his clothing and underwear into a different set of drawers now, not to mention make more space on his shelves for her. It also made him realise how she'd promised she wouldn't be a burden to the others, but not him. "I'll go make you some space now," he said, moving over to empty a drawer out.

"Thank you, Jaune. I'm sure two drawers and some wardrobe space will be enough."

He grumbled to himself as he continued working, and if anyone noticed him move his underwear out with a little more force than was strictly required then they didn't comment on it. He heard a faint plop as she sat down on his bed, and he had the sinking suspicion she'd be claiming that before long as well.

"The two of you seem quite familiar with one another," Ren said. "Did you know Jaune before Beacon?"

He opened his mouth to deny that but Ciel beat him to it. "I did," she said. "We were friends."

"Childhood friends?" Pyrrha asked.

"You could say that, right Jaune?"

Jaune gritted his teeth and pushed his head into his wardrobe, hiding his scowl from view. She was basically making up their past right in front of him and there was nothing he could do about it. "Sure, friends. In a way…"

Blake's eyes narrowed. "What does _that_ mean?"

Uh-oh, he'd forgotten about the paranoid Goliath in the room. Jaune pulled his head out and looked to his partner but her eyes were on Ciel. When he followed them, it was in time to see her staring at him, and the message in her eyes was obvious. He was to stop causing problems. He stubbornly matched her gaze and refused to back down. It didn't make him feel much better when she finally looked away.

"It was a little complicated," Ciel admitted, sighing as though she were recalling some difficult and embarrassing memory. "We'd been friends for a long time and many in our village expected it would turn into more than that. Sadly, Jaune took that to heart and confessed his feelings to me. Feelings I could not return."

Pyrrha gasped and her hand flew to her mouth. "Oh my!"

Ren nodded. "Ah, I see."

Blake looked to him for confirmation.

He was too busy staring at Ciel with his mouth hanging open. That… that absolute bitch! Oh, and she _knew_ it, especially with how her eyes flickered to his and the corners of her lips quirked upwards. Damn her. Damn her to hell.

"That was a long time ago," he said, "and that's not how I remember it at all."

"Maybe we should both seek to forget it. Some of the things that you said back then… I didn't realise I'd broken your heart so badly." Her acting was good. She managed to look away and seem genuinely distressed. Pyrrha lapped it up easily and looked between them with obvious concern. He wanted to take her aside and calm her down, then borrow her weapon and ram it through Ciel's chest.

Okay, maybe nothing that barbaric, but he did want to march back to Oobleck, Ciel in tow, and tell him she was Oobleck's problem, not his. He didn't get the chance, sadly. Blake stood up from her bed and looked to him. "Jaune, can we have a word outside?"

"Can we?" he asked, about as reluctantly as he felt. He knew what those words would be, and he didn't really want them. "I need to clear out my wardrobe for Ciel."

"I'll make space in mine," Pyrrha offered. "It's not fair for me not to chip in, and Ciel is going to be my teammate as well, even if only for a fortnight."

"Miss- Pyrrha," Ciel amended, "That's so kind. Thank you…"

Ren nodded and offered his assistance as well, and Jaune watched the lovely scene even as Blake walked by and snatched his arm to drag him out. Pyrrha and Ren thought they were helping but they'd sealed his fate, and it was all _her_ fault! He glared at Ciel even as he was pulled outside and continued to glare until the door was closed and he lost sight of her.

Even then, Blake took him a little further, obviously aware that to speak within any reasonable distance of Ciel would be a bad idea. Eventually they reached the nearest common room, and since it was somewhere between midday and the afternoon, it was mostly abandoned. There were still lessons left in the day, but Team ABRN, and the other first-years, had a free period. Team RWYN would normally be out and about but were probably distracted by their own new addition.

"Ciel is a spy," Blake said the moment she released him.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Blake's eyes narrowed to amber slits. Admittedly, it hadn't been his best lie – but she already knew about him being an Agent for the VSS, and that made tricking her a little difficult, especially when Ciel was being so obvious. Obvious to anyone who had the full picture, anyway. Had Blake not known what she did, she'd have just thought the two awkward childhood friends disagreeing over the past.

"Don't play me for an idiot," Blake snapped. "There's no way something like this would happen by accident. Plus, she says she knew you before Beacon, but I know for certain that's a lie."

"How?"

She ignored the question. "You also came directly from Oobleck's office, so she must have been there when he was treating you after you passed out – and if you hold out on me over that undead girl I'll follow you around for a week. I want to know what's going on there! People don't just recover from wounds like that."

"I don't know anything."

"Jaune…" she threatened, eyes flashing dangerously.

"No, I'm serious. Oobleck doesn't know anything about Penny. She's an Atlas citizen. She's off our radar."

"Hm, then that means Ciel is from Atlas as well. An Atlas Agent? Do they even have a similar organisation?"

"The ASF," he said. "Atlas Special Forces."

Blake looked like the cat who had caught the canary as she crossed her arms. "But she is not a member, hm?"

"Nope. I just know about the ASF because I have to. It's part of the job."

"And that story about you being her childhood sweetheart?"

His expression became pained. "All… it's all true…"

"Jaune, you look like you're sucking on a lemon."

"It's a bitter memory."

Blake stared at him, clearly not believing his story but slowly realising he was going to stick to it no matter what happened. She sighed and brought one hand to her face. "Fine. I can see where this is going. So, I suppose I'm to accept that this random girl, who has come out of nowhere and who has been pushed onto you by Oobleck – who is a part of the VSS himself – is totally unrelated to spies, international incidents, and that recent disaster you had on the highway."

"You're to accept all of those things, yes," he agreed.

"Even if it's obviously a lie."

He nodded. "Even if you mistakenly feel it's obviously a lie."

"You're an idiot…"

"I certainly feel like one."

"I'll play along for now," she said. "But only because I'm still trusting you to help me stop the White Fang. She doesn't know about that, does she?"

"How could she? She's not a spy."

Blake's eyes narrowed. "Jaune, please…"

"And even if she was a spy I promised you I wouldn't let anyone know the truth," he added. "It wouldn't make a difference if she was. Your secret is safe with me. I wouldn't bring some kind of hostile person back to our dorm like that."

It was the best he could do in forms of code, especially when he couldn't tell Blake the truth – even if she'd just about figured it all out anyway. It was still plausible deniability on his part and he had a feeling revealing his own identity was somehow less of a betrayal than revealing Ciel's. Though that cat was out of the bag – quite literally – since he'd revealed Oobleck.

Either way, Blake's shoulders relaxed a little and she nodded, clearly relieved to have what little assurance he could offer. "Thank you," she said. "I know it's a bother but I'm just afraid they wouldn't give me the chance to prove I'm not a part of the White Fang anymore. I've said it before but to the authorities it wouldn't matter. Once White Fang, always White Fang."

"I know." He placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed sympathetically. It was odd how easily he believed her, but she wore her feelings on her sleeve, at least when it came to the White Fang. _The VSS would consider her guilty as well, and in a way, she is. It's not like you can commit a crime, realise you did wrong later, and then have that crime be erased. You're still guilty and you still need to face justice for it._

Maybe it was stupid to try and make an exception for Blake. There were probably loads of other members of the White Fang who had wanted to leave – Tukson being a good example. Of course, he'd paid the price for it, but only because the Fang found him first.

"Come on," he said, "Let's go back before anyone gets suspicious."

"Why would someone be suspicious, Jaune?" Blake mocked, rolling her eyes. "It's not like there's anyone in there who _should_ feel suspicious."

"That's the spirit, but I've got a date with Ruby at the dance and I'd rather not spark any more rumours that you and I are dating, having an affair, or furiously making out in the common room." He earned a light punch on the arm for his joke, even if Blake did smile a little. He laughed back and the two made their way to the dorm.

As the door opened they were confronted by Pyrrha and Ren laughing, and Ciel politely joining in. She caught his eye and smiled. "Oh Jaune. There you are. Your teammates were just asking if I had any funny stories about your childhood."

Jaune's eye twitched again. "And you were indulging them, I guess?"

"Of course. There are so many happy memories, after all."

"And you're sticking to the embarrassing ones, I guess?"

Ciel's smirk was answer enough.

/-/

"You got a new teammate as well, then?" Ruby asked as they left Port's lesson. She'd wanted to sit next to him but Ciel had taken the spot, and Blake the other – glaring suspiciously across his lap at the dark-skinned girl.

"Yep," he said, and stepped aside so they wouldn't be run down by the other students fleeing the last lesson of the day. "I heard you got Penny. How's that going for you?"

"Well Penny is happy…"

"That bad, huh?"

"It's okay. The others are just being silly." Ruby made a cute face and stuck out her tongue. "Penny's awesome, she's just a little… exuberant, I guess. She'll calm down. Or Weiss and Yang will get used to her."

"And Nora?"

"Best friends already." She chuckled awkwardly. "That's kind of what's setting Weiss off, to be honest. It was bad enough having Nora as her partner, but now there are two of them and Nora's only gotten louder."

"Sounds rough. Ciel is… she's definitely something."

"I heard she's an old friend of yours."

"Something like that…" He sighed under his breath. "She gets on well with Pyrrha and Ren anyway, even if she _is_ a little cold."

"Like Weiss was?"

"That's not a bad description. She's like Weiss was, except way more regimented. She studies in Atlas."

"Atlas sounds like a scary place…"

It sounded like a full place, for sure. He was fairly certain he'd have suffered there as much, if not more, than Ruby. At least she had the skills to back up her awkwardness. He got the double whammy of foot-in-mouth syndrome and overall weakness.

"Are we…?" Ruby cut off and glanced down to her feet. "N-Never mind."

"What is it?" he asked, curious. "What's wrong?"

"Now that Ciel is here, and since you were childhood friends and… well… what you were." Ruby gestured vaguely, and he had the sinking suspicion she'd heard – and believed – the story about him and the Atlas Agent. "I wasn't sure if we were still _on_ … for the dance," she added. "I mean, I'd understand if you wanted to go with her, and you accepted my offer when you didn't know, and we were just going as friends." She looked like she might go on, but caught herself with a start, clamping her lips shut.

"I'd rather still go with you."

Ruby's eyes widened. Her cheeks darkened, and she tried to say something but didn't seem willing to open her mouth. As such, what she managed was a strained mumble. Her eyes wouldn't meet his, either.

"If that's okay with you still, I mean. Ciel is… let's just say we're not as close as we used to be. I'd rather not go to the school dance with her."

"Charming," Ciel drawled from behind.

Jaune might have jumped at any other time, but he was too exasperated for that and simply pressed a hand against his forehead. Great. Ruby's sudden case of nerves hadn't been nerves at all, but an attempt not to say anything in front of the girl who had appeared behind him.

"You really need to stop doing that," he said. "Standing behind me and listening in."

"And you really need to stop talking about me behind my back." Ciel sighed and looked to Ruby. "Do you mind if I speak with your date, Miss Rose?"

Ruby shook her head. "I-I'm not… that is…"

"Is that a no?"

"No!"

"Then it is a yes?"

"Y-Yes…" Ruby whined miserably at being caught out of her depth. "Um, I'll see you later Jaune. I uh… I'm glad we're still on for the dance. I'm looking forward to it."

"Can we speak privately, Jaune?" Ciel asked, apparently running out of patience. "Perhaps in the gardens? I hear those are rather nice at this time."

Ruby got the point and squeaked. "S-Sorry. I'll leave you alone now." She scampered off before he could stop her.

"Do you have to be like that?" he sighed.

"Like what?" Ciel moved past him and obviously expected him to follow. He did so but caught up so that they could be side by side and she wouldn't think him some useless pet to lead around. Even so, he glowered down at her.

"You pretty much insulted one of my friends just there."

"Did I?" She seemed genuinely confused. "I simply wanted to hurry matters along. As far as I could see she had said all she wanted to say. I didn't want to waste more time waiting for you to work your way towards an inevitable and protracted parting."

"Is this your way of getting back at me?"

"I'm not sure I know what you mean." Her big blue eyes met his, and yet again he was forced to admit how beautiful she was; an exotic kind of beauty that caught the eye. Still, her attitude ruined that somewhat, and not just from his point of view. She was standoffish to most other people, and not just to Ruby. While she spoke well with Pyrrha and Ren, and even Blake when required, it still felt like it was for politeness sake. He was fairly sure Ruby had picked up on that, hence her speedy exit. Ruby might have been socially awkward, but she wasn't stupid.

"You could stand to be a little less of a pain," he said. "And maybe to be nicer to my friends as well."

This time he got a reaction as she turned to glare at him. "What do you mean? I've been perfectly polite with them."

"Yeah, polite. You're about as friendly as a letter from the bank. That's not how normal people act, you know. You're too regimented."

"I am from Atlas. All students from Atlas are like this."

"Penny isn't," he pointed out.

She winced. "Penny is… different…"

"Not that you know anything of her, right?"

"No." Her eyes narrowed. "My teammate is not the only one who acts strange. You are aware that your partner is a faunus, no? Those ears are not easily concealed."

"I'm aware."

"It's suspicious that she would try to hide them at all. I'd suggest an investigation immediately."

"That won't be necessary."

Ciel paused and watched him warily after a moment that might have indicated shock or surprise. "And why, exactly, is it not necessary?"

"Because it's not suspicious at all," he said, and he made sure his voice was firm. "Faunus aren't exactly treated well in the Kingdoms, and even if Vale is better than Atlas it's still an issue. If Blake wants to be judged for how she acts rather than what she looks like, then I'm not going to interfere with that. I'd prefer it if you kept her ears secret."

"That's a tall favour to ask. Protocol demands that any suspicions be investigated."

"Then maybe I should look into Penny some more," he threatened, and Ciel reacted as though she'd been slapped. "She's pretty suspicious herself."

She recovered quickly, and when she spoke there wasn't a hint of doubt in her voice. "That's ridiculous. I've known Penny for months and there's nothing untoward with her."

"Hm, funny. I must have imagined it." He waited for Ciel to let her guard down. "After all, maybe she's _not_ hiding a sword wound under that scarf. One that tore straight through her throat and should have killed her in one blow."

Ciel stumbled for the first time. One foot hit the back of the other and she almost fell but managed to catch herself with one hand on a tree beside her. Even so, she stared at him as though he was some kind of alien creature. "How-?"

"Atlas wouldn't have known I was John White at that point," he explained. For once he actually felt like he had the upper hand. "You didn't know about my cover when you interfered in my mission, so you wouldn't have known who I was when Penny was sent to the docks to try and prevent Torchwick stealing dust."

Ciel's mouth opened and closed. No words came forth.

"As such, you guys probably didn't even realise someone would have seen her be beaten, and that said person might be a little surprised to see her completely alive again with no discernible injuries."

"S-She has a wound. She wears the scarf for a reason. Atlas medical technology has come a long way, however, and-"

"Cut the crap. Even if that were true she'd be bedridden for months. I'm no doctor but I think a sword to the throat might also do something for your ability to talk, let alone breathe. I know Penny isn't normal. I know there's something more going on there."

They came to a stop in the midst of some trees. Ciel didn't quite look like a cornered animal but there was definitely a sense of jumpiness about her, as though she were a bird about to take flight. Her blue eyes strayed towards the academy, and then, as she realised there was no real escape, back to his.

"The questions you're asking don't have answers I can give."

"I'm not asking any questions," Jaune said. "I'm giving you a message. Stop trying to poke holes in my team and I'll do the same for yours."

Ciel relaxed a little. "Your partner means that much to you?"

"My _team_ means that much to me, as does yours apparently. Or is that just your fabled Atlas efficiency?"

"Penny is my friend," she snapped, and he was surprised to catch a little fire in her voice. "I didn't lie; she has no purpose with my mission. She was not even a tool to ensure my presence here. I heard she had been hurt and wanted to check up on her. When my superiors learned of my intention, they saw an opportunity to add an additional objective. That is all."

So, it could have been anyone from the ASF, or maybe no one at all. There hadn't been a concrete plan for them to send someone to Vale so much as an opportunity that they'd grasped. If she could be believed, that was. Ciel was a better Agent than him so he had to keep his mind open. All of this – her being on the backfoot – might have been an act to make him lower his guard.

"My team aren't my mission either. Blake is just my partner and Pyrrha and Ren are my friends, but I like things that way. I don't want that to be ruined because you decided to bring work into it. If you can agree to leave off on them, I'll ignore Penny." He held a hand out. "Deal?"

Ciel regarded it as if it might bite her, but she had no real choice. She reached out and shook it. "I was led to believe you Vale types were soft. I see our intelligence wasn't quite on the mark."

It was, and he normally was, but she'd kicked up a protective streak inside of him when she'd made a move towards Blake. Her behaviour with Ruby certainly hadn't helped either.

"If your mission isn't your team then it must be someone else, at least within Beacon," Ciel said. "That Ruby girl? I heard you had a date with her."

"When I said you were to stay away from my team, hers was included."

"I am, I am, don't worry. She is Penny's friend and currently on the team fostering her. I would not do anything to imperil that. I just want to know where your current objectives lay. We are to be partners, after all. It wouldn't do for me to accidentally interfere with one of your missions."

"Like the last time."

"To be fair, you interfered with _my_ mission as well," she said. "But… I have been a little rude, I admit." She swept back and linked both hands behind her back. With a solemn sigh, she bowed her head forward. "I formally apologise for my behaviour. Please do not allow it to taint your opinion of Atlas or the ASF; the failure is mine and mine alone."

The apology was so sudden it shocked him. "A-Ah, it's fine? I mean…" He was about to say she didn't know, but that was the blatant lie she'd fed him and Oobleck. She'd known; she'd just considered her objective more important than him. "I guess it's water under the bridge," he said instead. "You seemed pretty upset about it, though."

"I held a perfect record up until that point. This last mission has been my one and only failure."

"Did you get in trouble for it?"

"No." Ciel shook her head and adopted a more relaxed posture. Relaxed for her, anyway. It still reeked of strict discipline. "A soldier who goes into battle expecting only victory is no soldier. General Ironwood said that, and the ASF he speaks true. It is folly not to anticipate difficulties, and to plan for possible failure."

"Then why were you so mad?"

"Even if it's foolish, even if I couldn't hope to maintain a perfect record forever, I… well…" Ciel's cheeks turned a pretty pink and she looked away, glaring at the grass. It was a surprisingly cute look for her, even if she refused to say any more.

"You wanted to keep it, huh?"

"I allowed pride to cloud my vision."

Sheesh, she could have just said `yes`. What was with her and using five words where one would fit? It was the same as Weiss in a way, except that Weiss had already started to loosen up a little, at least with those she considered trustworthy. Maybe Ciel would. He obviously didn't fit into that category with her.

"Well, I guess it's all sorted now," he said. "We'll stay from each other's teams and continue on as best we can. I guess you know I'm undercover with Cinder Fall."

Ciel's face became more business-like and she nodded once. "I do now. It was a surprise to learn the VSS had managed to infiltrate someone so quickly. The ASF often struggles inserting its own agents."

 _I wonder why,_ he thought, looking at her clear military posture. She noticed his expression but misread it as a questioning one.

"We often hire or blackmail other criminals instead," she explained. "By finding one loose or weak-willed individual, we can exert pressure – or supply gifts – in order to sway their loyalty. It means our infiltrators are better positioned where we want them, and that they're less likely to be found out."

And they'd be more expendable too, he didn't say. It wasn't a bad idea and the VSS probably did something similar – if that was what Vermillion was as a `Contact` of the agency. _I wonder if I could do something similar to that with Blake as a way to bring her in. If I could promise her freedom from prosecution and get Oobleck to agree, then she wouldn't be in any danger._ It was something worth considering.

But perhaps later, since Ciel was giving him an irritated look. "I'm not actually undercover with Cinder," he said. "The plan was to insert me with Torchwick. We didn't even know of her identity until that worked out and I'd done two successful jobs for him. Just so you know, that was the first time we saw the Paladin, too. We _did_ look for it before."

"Hm. Director Oobleck filled me in on that."

"The Paladin is your main objective, right?"

She nodded. "The potential for loss of human life is high and would originate in an allied city if the terrorists were to utilise it, or worse – reverse-engineer it. Even aside from the danger, the political fall-out with be catastrophic. It must be reclaimed… or destroyed."

"Would destroying it be enough?"

"It would remove the immediate problem and we do have the means to make more. However, it has been in their hands for some time now, and if they haven't sought to use it then I fear that is because they may be trying to understand its workings. Even if we destroy it now, we'd need to ensure there were no remaining schematics or files. They cannot be allowed to recreate it."

"Makes sense." It wasn't just the potential damage it could cause, he imagined, but also the fact that Atlas' best interests wouldn't be served by their hard-won new technology being pushed into production before they could capitalise on it. At the end of the day it was self-interest, but as long as that self-interest benefitted Vale as well, and would save innocent lives, he was fine with it. "I'll help you get it back, Ciel. Or destroy it. Do you know how?"

"I can pilot the machine," she said. "Alternatively, I know how to activate its self-destruct mechanism once inside. I hope you'll understand if I cannot provide you that knowledge."

"Yeah, I get it."

Finally, progress. It felt like with the sharing of objectives, some barrier had been lifted before them – not enough to make them friends, but enough to lift the mystery. He knew what she was after and she knew what he was in return. They'd set up boundaries, rules, and could hopefully now focus on honouring those and not getting in each other's way.

They continued their walk through the gardens now that the difficult subject had been dealt with. There were a few other students out, but the two of them kept apart, and while Ciel drew a few interested looks, it was more because of her unusual outfit and relative newness to Beacon, not any suspicion.

"I'm honestly not sure how we'll be able to work together in the field," Ciel said, walking along beside him but looking out over the forest ahead. "I suppose I'll have to wait until the Director makes a decision, but my forte is not infiltration."

"I'm sure he won't try that," Jaune laughed, and privately sent a prayer off that it would be the case. She'd blow his cover faster than him showing up in a Beacon uniform. "Maybe you'll be a distraction."

"Possibly. That woman I faced was powerful, however. I'm not sure I could distract her for long."

"Cinder?"

"Hm." Ciel's eyes narrowed and she clicked her tongue in annoyance. "The name is obviously fake and based around her fire abilities. Those seemed unusually versatile for a Semblance, and she was adept in close quarters as well. I am not confident that I would be able to best her in open combat."

"You're only seventeen. I doubt anyone expects you to."

"I may be seventeen, but my training places me closer to the level of a professional huntress," Ciel said, shooting him a glare from the corner of one eye. It looked like he'd stepped on her pride once more.

"Sorry, sorry. Well, Cinder doesn't look that much older."

"That is my concern. Where could she have trained that she would have power comparable to an agent trained since she was ten years old? I studied under the best, including Director Oobleck on a mentorship programme."

That last bit caught his attention, but also explained why she'd so easily recognised his VSS stance – and why Oobleck felt confident enough to lump a foreign agent with one of his own without asking her permission.

"Well then," he said, "I guess that's why we're working together. If you can't beat her on your own, then you need me."

Ciel scowled. "This is the beginning of a teamwork and friendship speech, isn't it?"

"I'll leave the speech to Oobleck, but basically… yeah."

"Save yourself the time," she sighed. "I'll agree to work with you…"

"And…?" he prodded.

"And I will _try_ to open up a little around your friends… I will try but it won't come easily. And your partner will have to stop _glaring_ at me every chance she gets." She fixed him with one such glare, and it did remind him of Blake a little.

"She's not exactly the most social of people herself…"

"Does she know-?"

"About me? Of course not."

He wasn't a very good liar, but luckily for him the idea he'd revealed himself was so alien to Ciel that she didn't even consider it a possibility. "Good. I'm glad to see you're not totally without discipline. I suppose that concludes our night. It was a valuable discussion, I feel." She smirked at him. "In the effort of fitting in more, I suppose I should ask you to point out any errors I make. I could use it as a chance to improve my infiltration abilities."

Help her improve? He winced at the idea. "Well you can stop saying things like `concludes our night` or that a discussion was a `valuable experience` for one. Can't you just say `let's talk later` or something like that?"

"Hm, I see. Very well, I shall endeavour to follow your recommendations. Let us return to our shared dwelling and see to our teammates, who must be raising suspicions as to the nature of our absence."

"Okay, now you're just making fun of me…"

Ciel's face was the picture of innocence.

/-/

"I would like to apologise if I was a little off earlier," Ciel said to his teammates not ten minutes later. "It's been a while since I had to adapt to new surroundings, let alone a new team. I may have come off a little… wooden." She laughed, and to her credit it actually sounded genuine. "I tend to fall back on manners when faced with new experiences. I hope it doesn't make me sound too unapproachable."

Ren put down his book and chuckled. "I think we realised that for ourselves, Ciel. I'm not offended, and I doubt Pyrrha is either."

"Of course not." Pyrrha smiled. "Honestly, I wasn't much better at the start of Beacon. It took me a while to relax and act normally. It must be even harder for you since your only teammate here is in a different dorm."

"Thank you for being so understanding. I'm sure I'll be as right as rain in a day or two." She turned to Blake and pointedly ignored her bow. "And to you as well, Blake. I truly am sorry for intruding on you all."

Blake's paranoia might have gone down a little, but he highly doubted it. "It's not a problem," she said, in the tone might use when saying that someone's dog taking a poo on your carpet wasn't a problem. It was, but you knew pointing fingers wasn't the right course of action.

Wonderful… and he couldn't even convince her Ciel was innocent, since she so obviously wasn't.

"And I'd like to thank you as well, Jaune," Ciel said, turning to him and bowing her head. "If not for you taking the time to point out my failing, I would not have had a chance to fix the problem."

He shrugged. "Yeah, no problem."

"I'm also grateful you offered to let me sleep on your bed while you take the floor."

"No pro-" Her words caught up with him. "Eh, what?"

"You always were a gentleman like that," she said, lifting her head. Her smirk was as clear as day, and as Pyrrha complimented him for his generosity and Ren offered some spare pillows and a blanket, it was all he could do to watch that look of victory blossom across the spy's face. Apparently, she wasn't as over her perfect mission record being ruined as she'd claimed.

Talk about vindictive…

* * *

 **A break from the action and espionage for Jaune this chapter as he tries to hammer things out with his new teammate, and to pacify his other one – who really shouldn't know as much as she does. Naturally Jaune isn't going to admit anything to Blake, even if he knows full well she can figure stuff out on her own. I couldn't help but feel that after three chapters of high-stakes action, it needed a moment to recover and look to the future.**

 **On Ciel, I'm inferring what I can from her brief moments – most noticeably that she timed Penny not once, but twice, and that from that I'm adopting the idea that efficiency is of high importance to her and having that show in how she acts. Naturally there is the very limited dialogue she had in the show as well.** **Since that would make for a very dull character, however, especially if they're nothing but by-the-book efficiency, I instead chose to have her react poorly and – dare it be said, childishly – to Jaune being responsible, even if inadvertently, for ruining her record for perfect efficiency.**

 **Not that any of this is really important, it's just me giving an idea of how I normally go about reading into characters. I did the same with Qrow in OGT, when I introduced him before the series did as a serial drunk who had Ruby latch onto his arm, and who took pleasure in rubbing her head and teasing her. Got close to canon, except that I somehow got it in my head his hair would be fully white. Not sure why, but hey-ho, all we had at the time was a black shadow cut-out of him and some spiky hair. I try to avoid fully OC-ing the characters, and try instead to look at the info we have (sometimes severely limited), but also look at how _other_ characters act of refer to them. In Qrow's case we had a lot of one-liners from Ruby and Yang, and in Ciel's case I looked at how Penny responds to Ciel. Does she seem like she has a minder, a friend, or an emotionless guard? Does Penny act naturally with her, and how does Ciel act with her? It's definitely limited, but I felt I saw some indications of friendship - if only in small smiles from Ciel, or the fact she indulges Penny's requests when she doesn't have to. **

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**Next Chapter: 4** **th** **February**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	27. Chapter 27

**There are some annoying problems up with the site at the moment that stop me being able to upload my word docs into the system. It's a pain and requires me to copy, paste, and then re-format _everything_. I'm fairly sure I caught all the mistakes and put paragraph breaks in the right places but if there are one or two that are a little strange then please forgive me. It's a bit hard to catch everything when it pasted itself here in a single block of uninterrupted text.**

* * *

 **Cover Art:** Kegi Springfield

 **Chapter 27**

* * *

It didn't take long for Ciel and Penny to work their way into Beacon, losing their status as unique and interesting strangers and becoming just another part of the school, and their teams. A spare bed had arrived for her the day after she'd stolen his, and her satisfied smirk said she'd known it would and simply teased him about stealing his own. It was a cramped fit but a temporary one and there weren't any problems after the team got used to it. Ruby's team likely had it even easier given their bunk beds.

Ciel herself had managed to become a little more open with the team, and others, though her reticence still shone through and few people could miss it. Luckily Pyrrha and Ren had come to realise that was just a part of her and not any slight against them. Even had she not been a spy Jaune had the feeling she'd have been a very strict and disciplined woman. It was hard to figure out if that was Atlas' influence or not, since the only other student from Atlas at the school was Penny – who was about as different from Ciel as night and day.

Penny, he was assured by Ciel, was the outlier. He'd have liked to ask more but even that had been delivered with a clear hesitation. She didn't like to talk about Penny, at least not to him. She was happy to speak to the others about her friend and how they'd met. He respected her boundaries, and in a strange return of faith Ciel respected his, even going so far as to put up with Blake whenever she acted suspicious. There wasn't much of that from his partner, but she _did_ have a tendency to go silent whenever Ciel entered the room, a miniature pause before she carried on doing whatever she was, but which spoke more than anything of her lack of trust. He doubted Blake even realised she did it, but if he noticed it then Ciel surely did.

It was a strange peace between them. One that seemed to extend to everything that mattered; their secrets and their roles in Beacon, but not to things that didn't matter. Ciel still took every chance she could to rub his nose in things, training included, but he got his own back with the occasional snide comment. As ever, pointing out her no-longer flawless record was usually enough to have her teeth click shut and her eyes become thin lines. Okay, maybe their peace would have been a little more whole-scale if he'd stopped doing that. Oobleck certainly rolled his eyes whenever they met up for training or the like, as they were now.

"That's enough," Oobleck called as Jaune hit the mat. His knife went flying under some nearby desks and he fought for breath. Ciel backed away from him, content at having so easily dispatched him. She held no weapon in her hands and had caught him in a vicious armlock that turned into a throw before he could react. Oobleck hummed. "What do you think, Ciel?"

"He's not terrible. His aura supplies are impressive and the strategy he uses – getting close and tanking hits to trade for aggression – is not a bad one. I imagine it would overwhelm any opponent he catches by surprise." She crossed her arms while he collected his knife. "That's the issue, however. It only works if I'm not prepared for it. It's easy to counter."

"So, it only works once," Oobleck said. "I expected this. I suppose we are fortunate our enemies have not yet had a chance to become accustomed to his style. The only one who did has already been killed." There was a faint note of satisfaction to his tone, a grim satisfaction. Oobleck had often remarked how much of a shame it was Mercury could not have been captured alive. Jaune had a feeling the bastard's suffering would have been much worse if he had.

"What am I supposed to do, then?" Jaune asked. "I'm training as hard as I can but the difference between us seems so huge."

Ciel laughed. "Ha. As well it should. I've been training like this for almost ten years."

"Ciel does have a point, Jaune," Oobleck added. "No matter how hard you train it will likely not be possible for you to overcome those who have trained for longer, unless they have slacked off in turn. Your training in the VSS is possibly the best in the Kingdom, but Ciel has had a similar level, and for far longer than you. The gap between you may lessen if she plateaus, but that should not happen anytime soon."

"And the gap between you and someone like Cinder, who I couldn't even touch, will only be worse," Ciel said. "I've no idea where she trained but it feels more like she didn't. She fought like someone who was made in battle."

"The crucible of war. Yes, I've heard it said those forged in such conditions can grow faster than any other. It is not a suitable method, however," he said, shooting Jaune a meaningful look. "Constant battle changes and twists a person, as I'm sure has happened to our enemy here. The main point is that neither of you will be able to hold a candle to someone of her strength."

"Individually, you mean," Ciel said.

"Individually, collectively, I doubt it will make a difference. Perhaps if you outnumbered her three to one with Magician's aid you would succeed, but remember that _she_ is not alone, either. Cinder Fall has her own allies to call upon. We have killed one but more remain."

"That's all well and good but it doesn't solve our problem," Jaune said. He gestured to Ciel. "If we're not enough to take her on, what can we do? If we can't be trained to be strong enough to beat her, then that's the solution?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Oobleck strode over to his desk and sat down, kicking both feet up onto the desk and picked up his mug. "Don't fight her. If you get into a situation where it is you, her, and however many other people, then we shall consider that a failed scenario. The ideal scenario is that we kill her when she is unaware, or better yet sabotage her plans and bring her to justice. The Council would like to have someone to try, after all."

Ciel scoffed. "I'm not sure she'll come peacefully to court."

"Which is why you have permission to kill if required. If that wasn't already obvious. We'll continue your training in the meanwhile, but our greatest asset is your position among her people." Oobleck paused to check his scroll then put it down with a sigh. "I'll make some adjustments to your training but that is the truth of the matter. Ciel, could you return to your team and make some excuses for Jaune while I speak with him? Tell them he's having a shower or something after your training."

Ciel nodded and bowed her head, moving back to the door before letting herself out. She did pause to glance inside once more but she wasn't the kind of person to question the Director, even if he was rather obviously getting rid of her. Jaune felt it was obvious, anyway.

"Was there something you wanted to talk to me about, Director?"

"Yes. Take a seat." Jaune did so, and when he was sat down the man continued. "General Ironwood has arrived in Vale earlier than expected, and as you know was here twice before – both before Beacon began and a few weeks ago, during your altercation at the docks. He has come to meet with Ozpin each time."

"Is it normal for the General of a Kingdom to do that?"

"No. No, it is not. While Ironwood may have some excuse being the headmaster of Atlas Academy, and I'm sure he is leveraging that back home, it still does not explain the repeat visits. There is more going on here than we know, Rat, and that does not fill me with confidence."

"We always knew there was, didn't we?"

"We had suspicions, and one of your objectives was to find out more about Ozpin, but there were always other possibilities. The Vytal Festival foe one. Now, however, with so many visits? I am unconvinced. There will be an official meeting for the festival in a week or so, after the school dance, and I'll want you there."

"In an official meeting?"

"You shall not be invited, of course, but I shall find a way to have you attend." Oobleck waved a hand to tell him not to think on it for now. "Either way, the more time goes on the less I'm convinced Ozpin's interests lay in the festival. It is time we stepped up our investigation against him. Both him _and_ General Ironwood."

"That's why you sent Ciel away," he realised. She was from the ASF and loyal to Atlas only, and while Ironwood _might_ have been doing something on the side, he was a citizen of Atlas – and a very important one. The ASF might prefer whatever secrets he had remain secret, and there was no telling how far Ciel might go to protect that.

She might even kill to defend him, as he might be expected to if he found someone spying on Oobleck or the VSS.

"Crane is a wonderful Agent, but she is not VSS. We can trust her so far as our goals align, which means she will be invaluable in the battle against Torchwick and Cinder Fall. You can trust her with your life in those circumstances. Here, however, you cannot trust her with even a stray word. Keep this mission quiet."

"I understand. So, what's the mission?"

/-/

Ruby munched on a sandwich and listened to Penny and her team, and Jaune's, talk. It was weird to think they had a fifth member, but Penny slotted in well, even if Weiss had been horrified to have another loud and energetic person on the team. She'd gotten over it though, if only because Penny was actually really good at schoolwork and strong in spars, which meant good things for the team and so pacified Weiss. Right now, she was talking about her teammate, Ciel.

"Friend Ciel has always been with me," Penny said, ignoring her meal and smiling happily, pleased to be the centre of attention. "Even on our team we are closer than anyone else. She is not very sociable though, so I don't always get the opportunity to have fun like this."

"Not sociable sounds about right," Yang said. "She's pretty stand-offish."

"Was," Pyrrha said, coming to the defence of her temporary teammate. "She isn't nearly as bad now."

"Ciel was like that in Atlas, too. She did not speak much when we were put on a team together." Penny tapped her chin as she remembered it. She smiled suddenly. "But I think it just took more time for us to get used to one another. While she is slow to open up she is a good friend and has helped me on many occasions."

"Maybe she's just shy," Ren suggested.

"I would not call her shy. She does not lack in confidence. But maybe you are right. Maybe she is only shy with people but is normal in other matters. Even in Atlas she does not have many friends other than myself."

"What does she do in Atlas?" Blake suddenly asked. It was unusual for Jaune's partner to join the conversation, or any conversation, but she leaned forward in interest.

Penny, on the other hand, seemed confused. "Nothing. She is a student."

"So, she doesn't _do_ anything?"

"We attend lessons together. We do homework together." Penny tilted her head to the side. "I'm not sure what else to say. Do students in Beacon do more?"

Blake went back to her book without responding, while Ruby laughed awkwardly. Yeah, she wasn't sure who was more anti-social; Blake or Ciel. You'd have thought that would make them get along, but they totally didn't. Nora teased that there were feelings between those two and Jaune, but Ruby wasn't so sure. If that was the case, then they'd stare at her for having him as a date to the dance. Neither seemed bothered, though.

"I'm sure Ciel will warm up to us as time goes on," Pyrrha said. "It sounds like she doesn't trust easily, and Penny did say it took some time for them to become friends."

"Yes, but we are now closer than ever," Penny boasted.

"Exactly. I think we'll all get used to her in time. It will just take a little patience."

Ruby nodded along, content to let everyone else decide. Ciel had been… odd around her the first time, but she seemed to have grown a little more confident. Sure, they didn't talk much, but when they interacted she no longer felt like the other girl wanted to get rid of her and end the conversation. That was a good step. In fact, Ciel seemed curious about her, often asking questions about how she got into Beacon early and what she thought of the headmaster. _Not that I can really answer those questions,_ she thought. She still had no idea just why headmaster Ozpin had invited her to Beacon.

"Hey," Yang called, perking up. "There they are now." The table turned at her voice to see Ciel and Jaune entering the cafeteria together, Jaune looking a little winded. They'd been off to train together or so Blake had said. She waved and received one back from him as he spotted them. It was Ciel alone who came over, however.

"Jaune said he shall be here momentarily," she reported. "He wishes to procure a meal for himself."

"Don't you want one?" Ruby asked.

"Ciel loses her appetite after sparring," Penny said. Her eyes widened. "Oops. Sorry, Ciel. I shouldn't have interrupted!"

Far from be angry the dark-skinned girl smiled at her teammate. "Don't worry, Penny. She isn't wrong; I normally feel sick if I eat so soon after a training session. I shall be fine waiting a little longer before I eat." She sat down and stifled a yawn.

"How did training go?" Pyrrha asked.

"Well enough. It has been a while since I saw Jaune fight so I had to remind myself what it was like. He's gotten stronger."

Blake glanced over her book. "So, when will we see _you_ fight?"

"When Miss Goodwitch calls me up, I'm sure. Or perhaps before. It depends if someone challenges me." Said challenge was obvious in her voice and Blake returned the stare, even as Ruby averted her own eyes to focus on other things. Sheesh, those two really didn't get along.

She caught sight of Jaune coming back from the food line, carrying a tray before him with what looked to be some mix of mashed potato, beans and gravy. He looked up, caught her watching, and grinned. Ruby grinned back, recalling a time when she'd been too awkward to do such and feeling a little embarrassment for it. She'd been silly back then. Jaune was an awesome friend. Awesome didn't mean perfect, however, and Ruby's eyes widened when his back foot caught his fore, his blue eyes growing wide as he tripped on nothing. "Look out!" she gasped, unsure who she was warning, the boy who had already tripped or those who might be in his path.

It happened in slow motion, though that might have been the sheer horror of the situation dragging it out. Jaune tripped and propelled himself forward, crying out as he let go of his tray. He landed hard but rolled on his shoulder so as to not hurt himself. The food he had let go of, however? That found something else to break its fall.

It splattered all across Yang's back… and more importantly the long, luscious, locks of blonde hair that reached down it. There was a moment of stillness in the cafeteria, of complete silence, not even broken by a giggle at Jaune's plight. Somewhere, someone gasped.

Yang's hands slammed down on the table.

"Y-Yang, it's okay-" Ruby began. "I-It missed you…" It was a poor lie and they all knew it. Even if she couldn't see her sister's back she could see the specks of gravy and bean juice that had sprayed past her, coating her uniform. Nora, sat beside Yang, leaned back to take a look and winced.

"My hair…" Yang whispered.

"Yang, please, it was an accident. I'm sure he didn't mean it. Right, Jaune?"

The blonde had managed to collect himself by that point and had walked over with one hand behind his head. Ruby wasn't sure why he didn't look more contrite, but maybe the fall had given him brain damage. Either way he seemed oblivious to the fury mounting in Yang's eyes.

"Yeah," he laughed, sounding more relieved than genuinely apologetic. "Tripped and fell. No big deal. I'm fine."

"I think you might want to rephrase that," Ren warned. "Perhaps into something containing an apology."

"Huh, why?"

Ciel's hand came up to cover her face. "You moron…"

Jaune blinked at her, scanned the horrified crowd, somehow missed Ruby frantically shaking her head, and then looked directly at Yang, who was about read to explode. "Hey Yang," he said. When her crimson eyes rose to his, he pointed to his head. "You've got something… right about here, I think. Beans or gravy, or maybe both. It doesn't really suit you."

Ruby choked on air.

Yang's fist caught Jaune in the chest. He flew back and crashed over a nearby table, students leaping aside to get out of the way.

"Wait, Yang, no!" Ruby's cry went ignored. Her sister leapt after her friend and caught him as he rose, another right hook that slammed into his cheek and sent him staggering to the side. "Jaune!" she cried. "Say sorry. Quick, apologise to her!"

"W-What for!? She's the one attacking me!"

"Is he an idiot?" Weiss had to ask. Ruby whined and reached both hands up to tug at her hair. This was a disaster. She wanted to stop them but didn't know how and they'd already managed to upturn two more tables and send students scattering.

Yang's fist sailed above his head, Jaune lunging forward and tackling her as he ducked her punch. His arms wrapped around her waist and carried her back, and this time it was Yang who slammed into a table, the two vanishing over it. He rose back up immediately, assisted by Yang's feet as she kicked him away and off her.

"Shouldn't we do something to stop this?" Ciel asked.

"I think it's a little late for that," Ren said, almost miserably. He pointed to the door, and Ruby's heart sank.

"What is the meaning of this!?" Glynda Goodwitch roared.

Yang and Jaune didn't hear her. He caught Yang's fist and twisted it to the side, grunted as she kneed him in the back, but then managed to get her into something resembling a headlock. The two wrestled for a moment before Yang proved the victor, breaking free. The fist that would have knocked him out skimmed his cheek as he dodged, and his return blow hit her square in the face – even if she tanked it and kept coming, her eyes red and her hair practically glowing.

To his credit he was holding out way longer than most other people did, but Yang did tend to get clumsy when enraged. Why he was fighting back at all, however, she didn't know. That was only making Yang angrier. The best thing would have been to apologise and back down, give Yang's anger nowhere to go, and let her collect herself.

No such luck, however. And Glynda strode forward, pushing past students. Some had run but most were huntsmen and huntresses and weren't afraid of a little violence. They'd formed a rough ring and were cheering the melee on.

"Stop!" Glynda shouted. "Stop this instant! Get out of the way. Break it up!"

"Get him!" someone yelled.

"You can do it, man!"

"Go for the face."

"Grab her hair!"

"Fifteen lien on the blonde!"

"Which!?"

Jaune reeled back as he caught a fist with his eye, and it had already darkened, the black eye showing up brightly. His fist found a spot in Yang's stomach, however, blowing air from her lungs. She retaliated with a sharp kick to his shin, as did he with a headbutt directly into her face. Yang snarled and butted back twice as hard. Jaune staggered back, caught himself, then raised his fist to punch again. Yang, on the other side mimicked his posture and charged in.

Neither fist connected. Both fighters floated a few feet into the air instead, and the students braying for blood all found something else to look at when Glynda strode into the ring.

"Enough!" she hissed. "I do not want to see a young huntress and huntsmen making such a foolish display. You are to be examples for the people, and instead I find you brawling like children!"

"He threw shit in my hair!" Yang screamed, eyes still red, teeth still gritted together.

"She attacked me!" Jaune replied, equally angry. It was the first time Ruby had ever really seen him as such. It must have been the first time for his team as well for Pyrrha and Ren were watching open-mouthed and even Blake stared, book laid flat on the table.

"I do not care who whom attacked who. You were both fighting when I arrived. Mr Arc, apologise to Miss Xiao-Long. Miss Xiao-Long, the same in return."

"Not until he says sorry first!"

"Not in a million years," Jaune replied. "Why should I say sorry to some psycho for attacking me?"

"What the _hell_ did you just call me!?" Yang's arms made a vague swimming motion in the air as she tried to propel herself toward him. Jaune held up a finger in return. "Come here and say that to my face!"

"Maybe when you don't stink of a roast dinner."

Ruby cupped her face with both hands. Oh Gods… and in front of Miss Goodwitch? What had happened to the two? They'd seemed so normal earlier. Since when did Jaune run around starting fights with people, her sister no less?

Miss Goodwitch was even less amused and raised the two higher in the air, and further apart. "In all my time at Beacon I have never been so disappointed," she said. "You shall _both_ be coming to see the headmaster immediately. Perhaps _he_ shall be able to think up a punishment suitable enough for such a transgression." She stomped out of the cafeteria, levitating the two behind her. As the door slammed shut, the large crowd began top excitedly chatter once more.

Meanwhile, Ruby groaned in abject mortification. Nora leaned over to pat her shoulder. "It's okay," she said. "I'm sure they won't get in too much trouble."

"I'm more amazed Arc could hold his own against her," Weiss said.

"Or that he'd even try to," Ren added. He sighed. "Jaune could have just apologised at the start and saved himself a lot of trouble. I'm not sure what goes on in his head sometimes. I'm really not." Ruby agreed and groaned again as Ciel and Penny started to discuss what kind of punishment the two might receive.

All the while, Blake stared after her partner with a suspicious expression on her face.

/-/

Ozpin sat behind his desk and regarded the two teens before him with an artfully raised eyebrow. Both looked sufficiently cowed and one smelled of an interesting mix of gravy and something else. Miss Xiao-Long occasionally glared at the boy beside her, but the anger in her eyes had by this point faded. Would that it might have earlier and his role in the matter might have been avoided.

"Miss Goodwitch tells me the two of you took to settling your differences in the middle of the cafeteria. We have training rooms for such things, but I would always rather suggest the library. Arguments are better solved with words than combat."

The two stooped a little lower, hands between their legs and their eyes barely reaching above the desk. Glynda stood behind and between the two, though her attention was on the ceiling in a vaguely irritated and impatient way. She had her own things to be doing, of course. The school dance was soon, and after that the festival. None of them had time for students acting like children.

"I would give you detention, but I feel that would be more a punishment to the teachers in charge of you than it would yourselves," Ozpin said. "Similarly, while I do not believe your transgression warrants suspension or expulsion, I would still know _why_ you started a battle in the cafeteria."

There was a moment of silence before either answered. A moment in which they tried to decipher whether he wanted an answer or if his question had been rhetorical. In the end it was Mr Arc who spoke, head still bowed low. "It was my fault, sir…"

The girl beside him twitched in shock.

"Do explain, Mr Arc."

"I tripped and spilled my food on Yang, and then refused to apologise afterwards. I'd been sparring with a friend and lost badly. I guess I was still upset from that."

"And you felt venting your frustrations on a fellow student was the correct way to do this?" He held his tone as the student refused to meet his eyes. "And what of you, Miss Xiao-Long? What do you have to say?"

Taiyang's eldest did meet his eyes, but hers were defiant. "I threw the first punch."

Ozpin rolled his eyes. He'd been a teacher for a long time now and could recognise the stubborn signs before him. As could Glynda if her put-upon sigh was any indication. One moment it was `he started it` and the next it was `I threw the first punch`. He knew full well that pointing out said discrepancy would only make the story harder to follow. In the end it didn't really matter. Both had been in a position to diffuse the situation and as huntsman and huntress in training, they were expected to do so.

"Whatever your intent, and that of the situation, you are both of you in the wrong. I shall refrain from enforcing a harsh punishment this time, but I warn you not to mistake my generosity for softness. I am not above barring you both from the dance _or_ from the tournament itself, if this continues." They stiffened at that, as he knew they would. "Am I understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"Yes, headmaster."

"Very good. We have two international students who will be watching our every move to better understand their allies. In the coming weeks more shall arrive, and Vale cannot afford for two of its representatives to be conducting themselves in such a matter. Save your aggression for the Grimm. You're both dismissed. Do not force Glynda to bring you both here again."

The two students nodded and stood, Mr Arc using his desk to help himself up. Neither met his eye as they left, and both shied away from Miss Goodwitch as well. As they approached the elevator the door opened with a whisper, and James Ironwood strode out, pausing to regard the students before he stepped aside and allowed them to pass. They entered the elevator together and the doors came shut with a whisper.

"They didn't look particularly pleased to be here," James said. "Punishments?"

Ozpin chuckled. "Children will be children, my old friend."

/-/

Jaune and Yang departed from the elevator together, both not quite meeting the other's eyes. Being summoned to meet the headmaster was embarrassing enough for any student but must have been a shock on his part. He hadn't really ever stood out much. Yang was more likely to have been called before and that was what made him feel guilty. With a sigh he turned towards her.

"Yang, I'm sorry…"

The blonde, whose hair was still dyed brunette and ginger, glowered back at him. There wasn't the same crimson intensity in her eyes, however. She grunted and crossed her arms beneath her considerable bust, and he knew looking at that would be a mistake.

"I'm sorry I got my food in your hair. And I'm sorry I didn't apologise."

Yang sighed heavily. "Yeah, well… I'm sorry I decked you."

The reminder brought back the pain in his right eye. He had a feeling it was a beautiful shade of purple. "I'm fairly sure I deserved it."

"Doesn't make it right." Yang stretched her arms behind her head and grinned. "It'll wash out, I guess. I was more pissed you made light of it than that you did it. Accidents happen but you pushed my buttons there. Not sure if I should hit you again or be impressed. I didn't think you had it in you to answer back, let alone fight back."

"If anyone could call that a fight."

"Eh, it wasn't bad. You got a few good licks in and _I'm_ the one used to fighting hand-to-hand. You weren't half bad." She held out a hand. "Good fight."

He laughed and took her hand in his, only to yelp when she dragged him in so that his face hovered less than an inch from hers. Anyone watching might have thought it a moment between them – until they saw her eyes, that was.

"But next time you spill crap in my hair and don't say sorry I won't go easy on you. Call me a psycho again and I'll be apologising to Blake for costing her a partner." The snarl faded like it had never existed, and she pushed him back with a little laugh. "But other than that, it was fun. Next time you want to spar just give me a shout the normal way, kay? No more food in the hair."

"Y-Yeah. Sure."

"Cool. See you around, champ. I'll tell Ruby not to worry and that we didn't kill one another. Meanwhile I need a shower."

He watched Yang wander off, waving idly over one shoulder, her mismatched hair sticking to her back. It was amazing just how easily her temper switched between hot and cold but that was just the kind of person she was. He did feel bad for messing up her hair, though. She hadn't really deserved it, or him acting like an ass afterwards and getting her in trouble.

As he made his own way slowly back to his dorm he reached down into his pocket and pulled out a small, black, device. It fit snugly into his ear and turned on with a tiny click of a button. There was a moment of static as it searched for the right signal. Eventually, voices came through.

 _"We have much to talk about, old friend. But first, is she secure?"_

 _"There have been no changes since the last time you visited,"_ Ozpin said. _"None for good or for bad. She is secure, though. I can assure you of that."_

 _"Have you given my suggestion any consideration?"_

 _"I have, though it loathes me to admit it. I do not believe she will awaken again."_

 _"We should find another host."_

 _"I know. I have a few people in mind that I am watching over. I'm not afraid to do what is necessary, James. You know that."_

 _"I do. I don't doubt you, Ozpin. I'm just concerned. The White Fang, these attacks, one of my own Paladins lost and traversed through the streets of Vale. You know those are connected. What are we going to do?"_

 _"We shall continue on as normal. Our plans have not changed. We still have time."_

 _"I hope so, Ozpin. I really do."_

Interesting. Very interesting. Jaune pressed the button again, transmitting the meeting directly to Oobleck in his office. It looked like they had their confirmation at last. Now, if only he could figure out who this `she` was.

 _"What of the relic?"_ Ironwood asked.

 _"Safe and sound. For now."_

/-/

"Ma'am." Emerald stood before Cinder and waited for the older woman to acknowledge her. It didn't take long. Cinder emerged from the shower and wrapped a towel around her waist, all the while Emerald swallowed and averted her eyes. Her mistress did not hurry in dressing herself, nor in sitting down and pouring herself a glass of wine.

Only when she was done did she gesture for Emerald to do the same, and she did, sitting opposite the woman she would follow to the ends of Remnant. "You looked troubled, Emerald. What is it? Has the loss of Mercury finally struck you?"

Emerald was honestly confused for a moment but shook her head. "No, it's not that. I'm just… I wanted to know what we're going to do. If you think it safe to tell me," she quickly added. "I just mean that our original plan was to infiltrate Beacon. That's not going to work now though, is it?"

"No. The plan has changed a little." Cinder regarded her with clear interest and Emerald held her gaze, knowing that to back down would not impress. "I suppose you have been left in the dark. Mercury's loss threw quite the wrench in our operations. Infiltrating Beacon is too much of a risk, especially when we still do not know who the people are who killed him."

"Roman hasn't been able to figure anything out?"

"If he has then he is keeping it close to his chest. He claims he knows nothing, but if these people have operated in Vale for as long as I suspect, then I doubt his integrity."

"Why lie?"

"He may wish to see us destroy one another while he prevails." Cinder's smile widened, and she ran a finger around the rim of her glass. "Or perhaps he sees this as a chance to break free of his leash. We shall see in time. Roman will not catch us unawares."

"No, ma'am," Emerald said. She'd hated the guy since the moment she saw him and would relish killing him. They'd have to watch out for his shadow, though. Neo was dangerous. And the shadows that hunted them too. Her wound ached; a constant reminder of the bastard that had blindsided and driven a dagger into her back. "What about the CCT, though?" Emerald asked. "Are you going to have me sneak into Beacon to shut it down? I could manage it."

"I don't doubt that you could." Cinder smiled and sipped her wine. "You shall not, however. The risk is too great, and your skills too valuable to lose."

Pleasure suffused her at those rich words, and Emerald had to fight against the instinct to lean even closer. It was only her skills, nothing more, no matter what she might wish. Still, she was valuable. Important. Irreplaceable.

"I understand, ma'am. Who will you send? Or have you decided we don't need the CCT after all?" She blinked as a second possibility came to her. "Not John, surely. He'd never make it."

"Oh, are you concerned for your new accomplice? I don't remember hearing such concern for Mercury."

"N-No, of course not. I don't care for him at all. I'm just concerned he wouldn't be strong enough to complete the job."

"If that is the case then we shall have ample opportunity to try again. That's the beauty of a dagger, Emerald. They're effective, easily concealed, and when one dulls it is easily replaced." She placed her glass down. "Contact our new friend. Tell him we have a job for him. And while you're at it tell Roman I wish to meet with him. It's high past time he and I had a little chat."

/-/

Jaune's scroll flashed and beeped. His eyes shot towards it, and his weren't the only ones. Ciel looked, eyes narrowing, and beyond her – out of her sight – so too did Blake's. Pyrrha and Ren looked also, but they were not nearly so high-strung and turned back to what they were doing a second later.

"Is that your Uncle, Jaune?" Ciel asked, not only speaking in code but also ruining any chance he had of convincing Blake she _wasn't_ a spy. He didn't miss the satisfied look on Blake's face. There wasn't much he could do about it.

"It is, yeah. I think he wants to meet with me."

Pyrrha glanced over and asked the question Blake and Ciel wanted to know. "Tonight?"

"No, it's…" He read the message; there wasn't much detail, just instructions to meet with Emerald and a location. "I think he just wants to talk to me. I'll probably go into Vale this weekend to see him. It's not anything immediate." He added the latter as a hint to both the girls in the room that they didn't need to harass him the second they had him alone.

As he moved to put the scroll down it beeped another message. This one wasn't from Emerald but was in fact from Roman himself. The contents didn't make him feel any better, however.

 _"We need to talk,"_ it read. _"Alone."_

* * *

 **Well, I wonder if any people were going all "Jaune wouldn't start a fight with Yang. That's OOC!" on me for a moment. Yes, Jaune baited Yang to get a detention with Ozpin so he could plant the bug, and he got quite the interesting information for it. I was a little surprised how many people _despised_ Ciel last chapter, lol, with the bed issue being a sticking point. I found it quite weird since if it were me, I'd have just said "eh" and saluted her on a ploy well done. I'm surprised how many people are willing to hate someone over a night in a sleeping bag. **

**Anyway, there are plenty of good reasons for Ciel to be antagonistic to Jaune and they go beyond her `perfect record`. Keep in mind that the VSS promised Atlas they would try and reclaim the Paladin, stolen military tech that could kill thousands of people, and that Ciel caught the VSS not only failing to do that, but aiding terrorists in moving it from one safe house to another. That would be like America finding evidence that the UK protected Bin Laden or something. Does the VSS have good reasons? Yes. Does the ASF have good reason to not care and to prioritise _their_ interests? Yes.**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 11th February**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	28. Chapter 28

**My work event is over. Much cheering and relief from me.**

* * *

 **Cover Art:** Kegi Springfield

 **Chapter 28**

* * *

Jaune adjusted his black and red suit and tried not to look nervous. Past his crimson sunglasses his eyes strafed the rooftops of nearby buildings, looking for any sign of Ciel. There was nothing. She was better at hiding than he was.

" _Stop looking for me,"_ a tinny voice whispered into his ear via the communicator sewn into his lapel. _"You're going to draw attention neither of us needs."_

"Sorry. I'm just nervous."

" _Don't be. I'm close enough and I know what I'm doing."_

Jaune nodded and didn't bother to point out that such was the problem. If Cinder somehow detected Ciel then she'd have questions as to why her newest pawn was being shadowed by an enemy agent. Incompetence or treachery; those would be his options. Both might very well carry the same punishment. He'd have rather Ciel stayed behind with Oobleck but that was apparently out of the question.

Diplomacy. It wasn't quite as good as he'd imagined it would be.

Cinder had chosen a different venue for tonight's rendezvous, the last time being in the semi-abandoned industrial district on the west side of the city. He wasn't sure if this was an attempt to keep him guessing as to their long-term location, but they'd picked a rather mundane nightclub on the north side, over by the Vale University and thus a haunt for teenagers and young adults, none of which would be aware of the threat among them, or of the meeting taking place in a rented VIP room.

It was odd that no one thought twice of offering her such, but he reminded himself that the majority of people weren't aware she was a criminal at all, let alone one in cahoots with Torchwick and the White Fang. Similarly, his suit, while odd, didn't mark him as a gangster to many.

His face would, but he'd taken pains to conceal that as best he could, wrapping a thick scarf over his mouth and nose and brushing his black-dyed hair into a different style. John White and Emerald Sustrai were criminals now. It was a shame Cinder had avoided identification, but she'd appeared and blown up a police Bullhead, which forced the news one away lest they be killed as well.

"What are you going to do once I go inside?" Jaune asked. "Please tell me you're not going to try and sneak in."

" _I'll be keeping an eye on the perimeter to make sure nothing happens. Once you're inside you'll be on your own. Call for me and I shall attempt to exfiltrate you."_ Ciel's response was no nonsense, her voice firm and clipped. Hopefully she wouldn't be needed. The plan was simple, really. Go in, see what Cinder wanted, agree to whatever she said, get out.

There was a long queue at the club when he arrived, but he followed the instructions he'd received and bypassed it, heading to a side entrance where a blonde woman with a clipboard stood. She regarded him warily as he approached. "I'm sorry, sir. This is a staff-only entrance."

"I was told to come here," Jaune said, making no move to remove his scarf. "My name is Mercury. Mercury Black."

"Black…?" The woman ran a finger down her list, and relaxed when she found the name. "Ah, that's fine. Please come inside. The rest of your party is awaiting you in room 201. It's the first door on the left at the top of the stairs. You can't miss it."

"Thanks." He hesitated in the doorway. "Do you know how many have shown up already?"

"Hm. Just the two, I believe. Two women."

Cinder and Emerald. Jaune nodded and said his thanks, slipping inside as she closed the door behind him. The corridor was a narrow one but there was a set of stairs prominently ahead of him and a door marked as `kitchens` to the right, which the hustle and bustle of noise echoed from. He took the stairs up to the second floor and found a grey-blue door clearly marked with the numbers 201. There was no sound from within, but he knocked his fist on it twice rather than enter.

Footsteps echoed on the other side, before something unlatched and the door was pulled open a tiny amount. A flash of red eyes on the other side appeared, along with a shock of green hair. "John?"

"It's me. Can I come in?"

"Sure." The door opened fully, and Emerald gestured him inside, closing and locking it behind him. "Cinder has been waiting for you."

"Not too long, I hope. I came as quickly as I could, but I had to disguise myself."

"I wondered about the hair. It doesn't suit you."

Jaune sighed and ruffled a hand through it, disturbing the gelled back locks and causing them to hang a little looser. He was surprised Emerald didn't have it worse than him since her hair was such a distinctive colour, but she hadn't even tried to disguise it. "Did no one recognise you?"

"I have my own ways around this," she said. "Come on. Don't keep Cinder waiting."

"Do you know what this is about?"

"I do, but she wants to explain." Emerald would say no more on the matter, and he was left to follow after her. She rounded a corner and led him to a smallish room with a round table in the centre and six chairs set around it. A hollow in the centre of the table dipped a little lower with ice stacked up inside of it, and two bottles were nestled within, one already uncorked. Cinder sat on the other side of it, one leg crossed over the other and a glass of red wine raised to her lips. It lowered upon seeing him, and she smiled seductively.

"It's good to see you, John."

"Um. You too, ma'am," he said, echoing the way Emerald often addressed her. "You said you wanted to talk with me."

"We'll get to that. Take a seat. Relax. Emerald, take our guest's jacket, won't you?"

"I'm not all that cold."

"Relax, John. We're all friends here."

Emerald appeared behind him and coughed meaningfully. Giving up his jacket was the last thing he wanted, not least of all because it held his communicators and a few tricks that might save his life if he got in trouble. Keeping it wasn't an option, though. He slid it off and let Emerald take it. His eyes remained on Cinder's as he took a seat, hoping Emerald wouldn't notice anything suspicious about it.

"You seem nervous," Cinder said.

"I'm a lot more wanted than I was before our last outing, ma'am. I was worried someone on the street might recognise me and set off the alarm."

"Hm. Emerald faces the same problems now. Your reveal wasn't quite what we were working towards. The mission should have been a simple one. Would have been, if not for our little friend interfering." Cinder leaned over to push an already filled glass towards him. "Drink?"

It wasn't as much an offer as she made it sound. He took it and had a sip, wincing a little when she smiled. "Thank you. Do we know anything more about the person who attacked us?"

"Precious little, I'm afraid. I have reason to believe she was from Atlas, but that is all. I don't believe she was working with local law enforcement and she didn't _feel_ like a huntress. Did you notice anything untoward about her?"

"She used some pretty advanced technology," he said, pushing her in the direction she was already going. Ciel had already made it fairly obvious she was from Atlas, but at least if he could make Cinder believe that she wouldn't have any suspicions about him and the VSS. "She also went for the cockpit of that robot. She might have known how to pilot it."

Cinder's eyes narrowed. "Hm. Interesting."

"Do you think she was after the robot, ma'am? I-If it's okay for me to ask questions, I mean."

"It's fine." Cinder's eyes flicked towards his and while she didn't smile there was a definite sense of morbid amusement to her tone. "I am not one to ignore intelligence, John. If you have any thoughts then feel free to share them, either with myself or with Emerald. I believe it's possible our friend is after the Paladin. You needn't worry, though. It is out of her reach."

Uh-oh. That didn't sound like something Ciel was going to like. "What do you mean?"

"It's nothing you need worry over."

The dismissal was obvious. "I understand."

"Good." Cinder regarded him with a warm smile. "You're a very fortunate find for us, John. You've done good work so far. Keep it up and I shall see you suitably… rewarded." She uncrossed her legs on the last word, sweeping them back and switching positions. The move was artfully done, revealing nothing but flashing her bare thigh and drawing attention to her long, smooth legs. A lesser man would have drooled. Jaune swallowed and tore his eyes away.

"I'll do my best."

"I'm sure you will. Now, tell me, Roman once informed me that you wished to attend Beacon. Is this right?"

"It was. I didn't have enough training to be accepted, though."

Cinder chuckled. "Their loss is our gain. Still, what would you say to having a chance to visit the school?"

Jaune's hackles rose instantly. What plans did she have on Beacon? Were his friends in danger? It took a monumental amount of effort to keep his expression calm, and even then, it wavered. "What exactly did you have in mind?"

"Before our cover was blown my intent was to have Mercury, Emerald, and I infiltrate Beacon as students. It was to be our cover for our time in Vale, but as you can imagine that is somewhat impossible now. We are simply too well known, or Emerald is at any rate. There is also no telling if Ozpin hasn't been made aware of myself through this interference from Atlas. He is close to General Ironwood, after all."

Panic rose within Jaune, though he kept it hidden. _Please don't tell me you want me to dye my hair blonde or something and infiltrate Beacon,_ he begged. It would be such ridiculous irony – not to mention it would be impossible. He kept his mouth shut, half afraid that by asking he'd give her the idea and seal his fate.

"There is a dance taking place soon within the school. A celebratory event for the students." Cinder sounded disinterested and waved one hand. "While I don't particularly care for the students themselves it will be an opportune moment where everyone is distracted, particularly the teachers. It would create an opportunity for someone to infiltrate Beacon."

"And do what?" Jaune asked.

"Plant a little something for me."

His eyes narrowed. "A bomb?"

"Nothing so dramatic, John. There is a certain piece of information I would like recovered from the CCT located in Beacon. It is confidential, of course, and locked within the system, but our mutual friend Roman was able to find someone to create a piece of software to get past that." She brought out a scroll-like device and placed it face up on the table. "All I would need is for this to be inserted into a terminal in the CCT, and the rest will handle itself. If it's not already obvious, I'd like you to take care of this for me." Her eyes met his. "Can you do it?"

"I think so." He reached for the device, but a hand caught his wrist before he could touch it. Cinder's eyes were sharp, and although she didn't burn his hand with her odd power, she did grip it tightly. So much so that his bones ached.

"I'd prefer a more deliberate answer, John. This isn't a game."

He winced. "I can do it, ma'am. I'll make sure it's done."

"Perfect." She released him. "I was sure you'd be able to, but you must understand the stakes. This is not a game. If you wish to truly be worthy of a place at my side, then you will need to take on greater responsibilities. This is a sign of my faith in you."

"I won't mess up."

She nodded. "See that you don't. Emerald, please be a dear and show John out."

Emerald nodded and led him back towards the entrance, handing him his jacket as she unlocked the door and allowed him to leave. He had no idea what they'd talk about after he left, and he half wished he could have left a receiver in there. The risk was too great, though. If Ozpin found his then it could have been left by any number of people, but if Cinder noticed one then the only suspect was him.

As he left the building and came out into the cool night air once more he quickly thumbed his lapel and spoke out loud. "Man, I wonder if she did anything to my jacket. She strikes me as paranoid enough to do something like that." He sighed, again loudly. "Guess I'll just have to show her I'm legitimate."

Ciel caught the message and didn't respond. Maybe he was being paranoid but maybe he wasn't. Emerald took his jacket and might have placed her own bug on it on Cinder's orders. The last thing he wanted after that was to have Ciel's voice give the game away. _Hopefully she'll pass that message onto Oobleck and he'll have some way of checking me set up for when I get back to Beacon._ If he ditched the jacket, it would only look even more suspicious.

Of course, there was little he could do about his next destination – and if Cinder _was_ listening then she'd have certainly paid attention. "Time to go see what Roman wants…"

/-/

Oobleck paused in his research to read the latest communique from Ciel. It appeared the mission was going well enough with Jaune. A good sign, perhaps. If they could work together now, then they might be able to put aside their petty differences and become a worthwhile team. He sent back a message to continue as planned and switched back to the tome he was reading through.

Relics, relics, relics. If he were a relic, where would he hide? Or rather where would information about him hide. The definition was clear enough, but the emphasis Ozpin and Ironwood had put on it spoke of something more than a fractured piece of history.

"Something that needs to be kept safe," he murmured, flicking through the book on ancient civilisations. "Something important enough to be protected and kept secret." He sighed closed the book with a loud clap. History didn't feel right. If this were a relic in terms of a historical find, then he very much doubted it would require the level of secrecy Ozpin was working with. Oobleck removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose, frustrated at the lack of progress. He wasn't a man used to working with limited information, let alone none at all.

It was all rather vexing, honestly.

They needed information. _He_ needed more information. Rat couldn't be spared; his mission too important and the poor boy stretched thin as it was. Ciel was needed to support him. Magician was injured and not ready to take a mission, and Vanguard… Damn it all. There were just too many variables. It felt like everything that could go wrong had, not just Roman, but the White Fang and some mysterious master mind, as well. The last thing they needed on top of this was Ozpin going rogue.

 _Ozpin, Glynda, and Ironwood,_ he mused. _Those three know more than they're letting on. I can't confront Ozpin and Ironwood is far too well protected._ That left the obvious remainder, but Glynda's loyalty to the headmaster was absolute. When it came to earning someone's loyalty, the simplest methods were the best. The age-old acronym, MICE, continued to yield results.

Money, ideology, coercion, or ego. Jaune had been relatively simple, a combination of the latter three, but mostly playing to his ego at first – and then his ideology when the boy grew into something resembling a man. It was always best to have people swayed by that as it made them easier to handle, and so long as the VSS did not stray into territory too morally ambiguous, the Agent often remained with them. They worked for the protection of Vale, after all. The problem was that whatever Ozpin was doing, Glynda likely felt _he_ was doing the same, and had more reason to trust Ozpin than she did a shadowy organisation.

Money was out of the question. Glynda earned enough from her position and showed no signs of avarice. Similarly, one of the highest-ranked women in the Kingdom hardly needed her ego stroking, and he had little to blackmail her with, even assuming she wouldn't stand firm in the face of it and simply report him to the headmaster.

Too stubborn, too firm, too loyal. He couldn't waste resources on converting her, and Ironwood was obviously out of the question.

 _With another five agents I might be able to handle this, but we're painfully short at the moment. Should I call more in? No, I need them where they are. Focus too much on this and we open ourselves to attack from any one of a thousand enemies._ Be too cautious, however, and they would let Ozpin slip out from under them, along with something that the headmaster of both Beacon and Atlas felt needed to be protected at all costs. Even with what little intel he had, this `relic` sounded important. Too important to remain an unknown.

Oobleck sighed and grabbed his scroll. Well, if you wanted a job doing properly…

" _Doctor Oobleck?"_ Glynda asked, answering the call.

"Yes, Glynda. Dreadfully sorry to disturb you but I've noticed something of a hole in our budget for the upcoming festival and wanted to bring it to your attention."

" _Another? What is it? I'll report it to the headmaster."_

"Well, I'd seen a few ways to solve the issue myself and wanted to discuss them with you. I know Ozpin is busy, as are you, so perhaps it would be easier to sort this out between the two of us. I know everyone is busy with preparations, after all."

" _That's true. Very well, did you want me to meet you in your office?"_

"Nonsense, Glynda. I'm the one who has created this work for us, so I shall meet you at yours. Are you there now, or are you in your quarters?"

" _I'm in my office and will be for a while."_

"Perfect. I shall be right over."

Oobleck ended the call, stood, and grabbed a number of miniature listening devices out of a hidden compartment in his desk drawer. A Director of Operations really shouldn't be doing the grunt work himself, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

/-/

Blake was well aware of how much of a risk she was taking. That was why she'd taken it without informing Jaune, since that way nothing could fall back onto him if she was caught. He could quite honestly claim he'd had no idea she was following him, and that she must have become suspicious as to his late-night outings. That was _if_ she got caught, of course, and that would require a little bit of misfortune, since she was keeping a far distance away from him and was pressed against the side of a building, perched inside the window of an apartment building. The window had been smashed, granting her entrance, and the apartment she'd picked was dark and dusty, unused.

It also gave her a spectacular view over the building Jaune approached, which appeared to be some kind of glass-fronted office block. Blake's eyes easily pierced the gloom to watch him. He moved nervously, anxiously, not at all like how she might have imagined a spy would.

She saw Torchwick step out from the front entrance. Saw them exchange words, even if it was impossible to decipher them, or even see the criminal's expression from so great a range. She ran a finger over Gambol Shroud but refrained from drawing it. As much as she hated to admit it, Torchwick was probably more useful as a source of information than he was dead.

Something rustled above. There was a noise like an impact, and Blake ducked low behind the windowsill. It was gone a second later, however, and she watched as a white and grey figure leapt from the roof of the very apartment block she was hiding in. The figure caught onto a drainage pipe from the next building, shifted onto the fire escape ladder, and then scurried up to the roof, crouched low. She left that one, too, making her way far closer to the office than Blake dared.

"So much for Ciel not being a spy," Blake whispered. It wasn't like she'd ever been convinced, of course, but still – it was practically insulting that Jaune had tried. "I guess she's his partner for the time being."

That was both good and bad. Bad because it meant she wouldn't be able to accompany Jaune on any of his missions. Good because he'd have someone to watch his back. Gods knew he needed it with his ability to get into trouble wherever possible.

"Two meetings in one night. What _are_ you doing, Jaune?"

She hadn't been able to penetrate the nightclub and hadn't even tried. Jaune went straight in a VIP entrance and that was the end of it, her being left outside to bite her lip and wish she could sneak in. It looked like it was a good job she hadn't, since his little shadow might have seen fit to attack her. The fact she was wearing a White Fang mask might cover her identity, but not by much. It would have been nice to have one of their full-face helmets. Maybe she could ask for one. Or steal it.

Jaune and Torchwick went inside the building after exchanging words, and Blake settled down for what would almost certainly be a long and boring night. She'd hoped for something more after seeing his expression last night – and _two_ calls, one after the other, but it looked like it was a planning meeting. She'd wait until he left, long enough to confirm his safety, and then also wait until Ciel left. Jaune would be paranoid as all hell if he made it back to Beacon and she wasn't there, but hey, she could play the `I was out drinking` card, too. Maybe he'd see how much it sucked to be constantly left in the dark.

Blake peeked her head up, grateful for the dark that concealed her and her heritage which let her see through it. Ciel had taken a place on a building four or five along, and somewhat lower than Blake's own. She was crouched by the edge of it, pressed against some raised brickwork that would have concealed her from view of the office. She was also between that and a roof access hatch, which meant she was only visible from one side, the one Blake happened to have a clear view of. The Atlas Agent was probably counting on her mask to keep her hidden, since it didn't really matter if anyone saw her so long as it wasn't the people she was spying on.

 _She's good,_ Blake thought, _but not perfect._ It was the difference of theoretical and practical, and while Ciel certainly seemed to know _how_ to stay hidden, it was obvious she hadn't had much time to practice it. _She_ , on the other hand, had spent years sneaking into dangerous places with the White Fang. Blake also hadn't gained a dependency on advanced technology or concealing armour to do so, and that meant she'd learned not to cut corners. Ciel hadn't, apparently.

Which was why Ciel didn't notice when the air rippled toward the back of the rooftop she was hidden on. It was a subtle thing, difficult to see even for Blake, but she caught the distortion and the dust that kicked up – and it was that which really caught her eye. Even so, she strained her vision. There was nothing there.

But _something_ had landed on the roof…

And Ciel hadn't noticed.

/-/

Roman's meeting place was far more utilitarian than Cinder's, which was odd given how ostentatious the man was. It was an office building of some kind but judging from the state of it, it either hadn't been used for some time or was in the process of being repurposed. There were girders and building materials around the outside of it, and the interior had been stripped bare of any decoration. Roman met him at the entrance and smiled cockily.

"Nice to see you. It's been a while."

"I've been busy with Cinder," Jaune said, standing awkwardly on the street. "I just came from a meeting with her."

Roman's smile faded. "Did you tell her you were meeting me after?"

"No. Your message suggested it was to be private."

"Good man. Pleased to see you can read between the lines." He stepped back and gestured for Jaune to follow him inside, leading the two of them through some half-decorated rooms and into what appeared to be a conference room of sorts. The walls were in the process of being painted and there was a thick sheet over the table, protecting it. Roman dragged that off and sat down, kicking both feet up onto it. "Take a seat. Our hospitality this evening comes on behalf of Pynchott & Son's solicitors practice."

"Contacts of yours?" Jaune asked nervously.

"Nope. Just some poor schmucks who are going to find boot prints on their table. Makes for a good meeting place, though."

"It _is_ nice," Jaune commented. There were no windows or routes out but for the door they'd come in from. It might have been a room designed for privacy, likely when dealing with clients who might reveal things they didn't want others to overhear. "What did you call me for, anyway? I thought you wanted me to follow Cinder's instructions."

"Want you to?" Roman barked a laugh. "Kid, that's the last thing I wanted. Need and want are very different things, and where that broad is involved my _need_ becomes tied into my very survival." He leaned forward to flick some ash from his cigar on the table. "She's dangerous, John. You better believe that."

"I can tell. I nearly died once already."

"Hm. Atlas' little interference. I saw that plastered all over the news. Lucky for you I have that Paladin out of Vale already, so you needn't worry about it causing you any more trouble." Roman grinned and took a long puff, blowing smoke out across the room. He eyed Jaune. "You want to know where I've taken it?"

"It's not really any of my business, is it?"

"That's not what I asked, John. I asked if you want to know where I've taken it."

"I'm curious," Jaune hedged. "I mean, it's not like I need to know but I did nearly get arrested or killed moving it across the city, so I'll admit to wanting to know. Not if it's the kind of knowledge that's going to get me killed, though."

"That's a nice and diplomatic answer. Damn it, kid. Yes or no. Do you want to know?"

He had no idea what game Roman was playing but went for a leap of faith anyway. It wasn't like he could give the game away when the man was pushing him so much. "I want to know."

"The Paladin is being moved out of the city and given to the White Fang."

What? But if that were the case then what was the point of bringing it _into_ the city in the first place? Cinder had captured it in transit and specifically brought it to Vale.

"I see you're curious as to why."

Jaune school his expression. "I guess I am. Seems a lot of work to throw it to those idiots."

"Oh, you as thrilled about the White Fang as I am, now?"

"They were useless when we worked with them," he said offhandedly. "I didn't know what to think before, but it's hard to ignore the fact _we_ did all the work at the docks. They didn't even distract that huntress that attacked us."

Roman hummed his agreement. "You're not wrong, kid. They're amateurs and fanatics; people who have more excitement than discipline. They're good for certain things, but finesse isn't one of them. If you want something blown up and you don't care about losses, they're perfect. If you want something stolen and don't want to cause a ruckus, that's where I come in."

"Then why did Cinder send them with us to rob the docks?"

"You can answer that question, kid. You tell me."

The answer came quickly. It might not have before, but after all of the subterfuge that had been going on, and all of the confusion, he'd learned to adapt and think on his feet. He'd have never leapt to such a conclusion normally, but after everything he'd seen? It seemed ridiculous, but it wasn't, and his mouth fell open as he stared at Roman.

"She wanted us to fail…"

"Or be seen," Roman corrected. "If she'd really wanted failure she'd have just sent the animals, but she sent me along and I'm not exactly a pawn to be lost. She wanted us to succeed but she wanted us to make a mess of it and for the authorities to be tipped off."

It made sense – not the why she would do it, but the fact she had. He could even remember Roman arguing against it, saying that his men could handle it quietly, and then complaining when Cinder demanded he take the White Fang with them. But why? What possible benefit could Cinder have from her actions being noticed? Even assuming everyone thought it was Torchwick and the White Fang and her cover wasn't broken, it would still mean more alertness from everyone, Beacon included. It would make her job harder.

Except that he still didn't know _what_ her job was.

The realisation struck him hard. He had _no_ idea what she wanted – what her goal was. She was working with criminals and terrorists, so he'd assumed it was bad, and probably rightfully so, but what was it? Destroy all of Vale? Topple the Council? Destabilise Beacon? What possible end-goal could require faunus supremacists, a career criminal, and a stolen battle mech? It just didn't make sense.

"I can see you're as confused as I am, kid. So, she hasn't dug her claws into you yet. Good to see it."

"I… I don't understand. What does she want?" There was a part of him shouting at not being so obvious and maintaining his cool, especially in front of Roman, but the crook obviously didn't think anything of it and shrugged his shoulders.

"Beats me. She's given me some drivel about power and influence, but that's a load of horseshit and we both know it. Her cover is blown and yet she's still here. Whatever she wants, it doesn't require her sticking around in Vale afterwards."

No, it didn't – and that was all kinds of bad. Oobleck needed to know. Hell, Ciel needed to know. All of Vale did. If Cinder didn't actually care about her standing or what happened to the city _after_ she got whatever it was she was after, then that meant everything was expendable. Everything… including the hundreds of thousands of people living in the city.

"What's she got you doing, anyway?" Roman asked.

Cinder wouldn't have wanted him to tell his ex-boss, but John – as a cover – probably would have done, and there was a chance he could use it to extract some information from the man. He pulled out the device she'd given to him and held it up. "She wants me to sneak into Beacon and place this in the CCT. She says it's a program to extract a piece of information from it. She said you had someone make it."

"Heh, half-right. I had someone make it, but extraction isn't its main job. That's a virus. It'll put a nasty program on whatever runs it that gives Cinder control, or at least allows her to input some very specific commands." He held up a hand to forestall the obvious question. "I don't know what. Above my paygrade if you know what I mean."

"Yeah, mine too," Jaune laughed, while making a mental note to inform Oobleck. There was still three or four days until the dance, so there was time between the night of the job for the VSS to sift through it and see what they could do. If they could neutralise the virus, or at least insert some kind of kill-switch, then Oobleck might still have him plant it – if only to trick Cinder.

He was a little surprised at just how open Roman was being about it all. Sure, he obviously didn't _like_ Cinder, but if this got back to her then he'd be in serious trouble.

"Do you think I should plant the virus?" Jaune asked.

Roman raised an eyebrow. "You got a choice?"

"Not really."

"Then there's your answer. Just watch your back. That woman's trickier than a King Taijitu. She won't think twice about throwing you away once you've stopped being useful. I wouldn't be surprised if she already has your death planned out."

"Neither would I…"

"Well, at least you know what it is you're dealing with. I've seen some snared by her looks and manner. I'll admit, she's one hell of a woman. I prefer mine not trying to stab me in the back, though." Roman grinned. "That's how I prefer _all_ my associates, really."

A loud gunshot rent the air.

Jaune flinched, but the sound was distant, outside, and nothing struck him. Roman didn't react at all, other than to let one eye slowly drift toward the wall in the direction of the sound. He obviously wasn't afraid and shot Jaune a cheeky smile. "Jumpy, huh?"

"W-What was that?"

"I told Neo to watch the area in case you were followed. Looks like you were."

No, Ciel!

Jaune's heart hammered in his chest. He forced himself to remain seated, despite the fear. Ciel wasn't an amateur. She wasn't an idiot. She'd be okay – she had to be. _It was only a single gunshot. Unless that was to the back of the head, and her without her helmet, it wouldn't be enough to kill her. No way did someone sneak up on her, even Neo._

"I didn't realise," Jaune said, lying easily. "Do you think it was Cinder?"

"Neo wouldn't shoot her or Emerald," Roman said, "much as we all might wish she could. No, this is someone else." Another shot echoed, this time more distant. Neo was driving Ciel away – or Ciel was retreating and leading Neo off. Either way, she was still alive. Just no longer close enough to help if he needed it.

"Sounds like Neo has scared them off," he said.

"Seems that way. Looks like you're becoming famous, kid. Or infamous."

"Not by choice."

"It rarely is. We'd all rather remain in the shadows, but the light catches us sooner or later." Roman sighed and stubbed out his cigar, flicking the butt onto the office's freshly laid carpet. "That's what sucks about the job sometimes. It's good while you remain hidden but once your cover's blown, it's blown, and there's no getting it back. Makes life difficult. Or short. I guess you've figured that out by now."

"Yeah, well, I'm not exactly pleased Cinder's first job got me exposed to the press."

"I didn't mean that, kid," Roman said, laughing.

"Then what did you mean?"

Roman leaned forward, placing one elbow on the desk and his chin atop his empty palm. He raised both eyebrows and smiled, revealing rows of pearly white teeth. "How's my old friend Oobleck doing?"

His heart froze. "W-Who?"

"Bartholomew Oobleck, John. Or should I call you Jaune?"

* * *

 **Oh, shit.**

 **Sometimes you need to read the signs, Jaune. There were so many. Well, this feels like a nice place to end the chapter. I have to say the responses to last chapter did make me laugh a little. I know some disliked Ciel because of her antagonism, and that's understandable, but I still got some which were oddly focused on the bed issue. As in some arguing that it really is a** _ **grave sin**_ **to steal someone's bed, and one even saying I'd know that had I ever had my bed stolen.**

 **Is it, really? Sheesh. I've had my bed stolen loads of times – especially at university when people would come for a house party, get drunk, and I'd go to bed just to find some random guy or girl (or both) having stolen it. And yeah, without permission. They just wanted to sleep, poked around, found my room and bed and took it.**

 **I always just shrugged and said fair play. It's just a bed.**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 18** **th** **February**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	29. Chapter 29

**Okay, here we are. Plenty of theories thrown around last chapter by people, some accurate, some less so. Let's see how the cookie crumbles.**

* * *

 **Cover Art:** Kegi Springfield

 **Chapter 29**

* * *

Jaune's heart beat heavily in his chest. His breath caught in his throat. His eyes remained locked on Roman's, even as the man gazed laconically back. All the warnings from Oobleck of what would happen if his cover was ever blown flashed through his mind and all came back to the same eventuality. He would die. His only hope was Ciel, his support, but she'd been driven back by Neo.

That should have been his first sign something was wrong. It should have alerted him to the possibility. He'd become complacent. He'd gotten used to things working out.

And then, just like that, they hadn't.

"No words?" Roman quipped, waving one hand with a flamboyant swagger. "No deft protests. No, `you must be wrong; my name is John`? Come now, Jaune, I'm disappointed."

His panic was mounting so fast he hadn't even thought to play dumb, if it would have made a difference at all. Roman sounded so sure of himself, and in the end, it wouldn't have mattered. Roman was the one in charge, which meant what was right or wrong didn't matter – only what he believed to be the truth. Jaune's eyes flickered about the small office, cataloguing the potential exits. There was a vent above, all but impossible to get into. The wall behind was thin plasterboard, possibly weak enough to destroy. The door was to his left, within reach, but not approachable while Roman had an eye on him.

"Searching for exits? There's one right there, but what's to say I haven't trapped it? You could take your chance. It's a question of speed, really. Or luck. You feeling lucky today, kid?"

"Sir, you're making a mistake…"

"Oh, _now_ we're trying this, are we?" Roman slapped a hand against the table in mirth, smiling past the cigar clenched between his teeth. "Brilliant. Truly wonderful. I knew you were a quick kid, Jaune, but I didn't think you were an aspiring actor, too. It's why I like you; why I noticed you when you were the only one to properly manage that robbery on the dust store. You've been good to me, you really have. One of my best men."

"Then why, sir? Why do you think I betrayed you? What did I do wrong?"

"Geez, you're really milking this. Isn't it obvious? It's not that you did anything wrong..."

Roman grinned.

"It's that I knew from the start!"

No. It couldn't be. But... but that would mean all the times they'd been together, all the things he'd seen… it was all intentional. He hadn't infiltrated Roman's group at all. He'd never actually _been_ undercover. A feeling of acute nausea ran through him when he realised the other implication. Everything he and Oobleck had learned had been planted by Roman. All the Intel they'd gained… it was worth nothing and might just as easily be a trap for the VSS.

They'd been played.

Another gunshot echoed from outside.

Roman's head twitched towards it.

Jaune moved.

He didn't think; didn't dare to. The second Roman's eyes shifted he was off the chair and dashing for the door, one hand outstretched for the handle. He caught it, twisted, but the sound of a chamber clearing from behind prevented him moving. There was an angry flare of bright light, and then nothing but pain. A shadow appeared over him, Roman's smug face filing his vision. Melodic Cudgel smoked and there was a huge mark of black soot on the wall behind him.

That could just as easily have been his head, and the mark on the wall his blood.

"Ah, ah, ah!" Roman teased, hooking the curved part of his cane around Jaune's neck and lugging him to his feet. He was dragged forward and slammed against the table, still dizzy from the blast that had knocked him down. Roman's hand buried itself in the back of his hair and pressed his cheek against the polished wood. "I didn't say our discussion was over yet, Jaune. You and I have some words to exchange, so…"

Roman pushed him back into his seat, then pushed the seat under the table so he couldn't easily escape.

"Sit down, shut up, and thank your lucky stars I'm not giving your eyes a one-time viewing of your brain matter."

The crook let go with a last shove, smacking Jaune's face against the table. He felt his aura flare, even if it didn't do anything for the pain or the dizziness it caused. He fell back, slumped in the chair and barely able to watch through one eye as Roman walked back over to his side of the table and sat down.

Melodic Cudgel, the cane and explosive dust launcher, came to rest on the table. In reach of Roman; out of reach of himself.

The threat was very, very real. He'd been in this spot once before with Blake, and the terror that wracked his body had been the same then, maybe even more pronounced. He'd known in that moment that Blake had been pushed too far and that she'd do it, she'd pull the trigger and end his life. Here, there was none of that.

Roman wouldn't hesitate at the best of times. This was the worst. He'd betrayed the VSS once to save his skin. Was he really about to do it again? He had no idea. Then again, Roman already knew, which raised the question of why he was alive in the first place and why Roman had ever allowed the charade to last.

It also reminded him that he didn't _have_ anything to offer for his life. Blake wanted answers. Roman already had them. Jaune swallowed and tried to loom brave, even if his heart hammered in his chest. _I don't want to die here. I don't want to die at all._ He remembered Vanguard, not just for the man's sacrifice but also his bravery. What was going through him now made a mockery of that, and that pissed him off. If he couldn't _be_ brave, then the least he could do was act it.

"You're not getting anything from me, Torchwick."

"Ooh, a tough guy. I like that. Tell me, kid. You ever been tortured before?"

Oh God. Oh gods. His vision practically _swam_ with fear. He couldn't do anything. If Roman wanted to break all his fingers one by one he could, he would. He tried to fight past the terror and focus on the little training he'd received. There had to be an out. One that didn't involve killing himself on Roman's weapon to avoid the threat of pain.

 _Ciel, please. If there's any time for you to prove yourself better than me, not is that time!_

"Your face says it all," Roman said. "You've not been, though I see you've got the imagination for it. I hate torture myself but there's no denying its effectiveness. Believe me, Oobleck isn't innocent in that regard either. He'll do whatever it takes to get what he wants. He's always been like that."

"W-Who is O-Oobleck?"

Roman moved like lightning. It was honestly too fast to track but one second he'd been sat down and the next he was leaning over the table. The metal cracked down, striking Jaune on the back of his right hand and _crushing_ it against the table. He screamed reflexively, pain lancing up his arm. He cradled the damaged hand to his chest, fighting past the tears that prickled in his eyes. It was just one hit but he hadn't been ready and his aura hadn't prevented it. It moved now to help heal the damage, but the pain... it hurt so much...

"I warned you," the thief snapped, suddenly angry. "I warned you what would happen and you tested me. You've no one to blame for that but yourself."

"Y-You b-bastard," Jaune spluttered.

"Bastard, whore, son of a bitch, I've heard it all and a thousand times over but _I'm_ the one standing and my enemies are _dead_." He slammed a hand on the table for emphasis. "I'm being nice here, John. Jaune, whatever the hell you want to call yourself. I'm talking to you instead of throwing you in the harbour with weights wrapped around your legs. Least you can do is return the Grimm-damned courtesy." He stalked around the table and gripped Jaune's chin in one hand, squashing his lips together and glaring into his eyes.

"I know who you are," he hissed. "I know who the VSS is. I know who Oobleck is, and I damn well knew who you were the moment I saw you. Or does the name `Vermillion` not ring a bell?"

The name. The contact. "T-That was you?"

"Ha, you wish." Roman released him by pushing his face aside. "I'm not VSS, so don't you dare get your hopes up. Let's just say ol' Bartholomew isn't as infallible as he likes to think he is. Vermillion was never on your payroll; she was on mine. And colour me intrigued when she let me know a certain organisation wanted to fast-track someone into a list of candidates to work for me. Very interesting, indeed."

Roman laughed and went on, all too happy to gloat of his success. "Of course, I couldn't say no to an opportunity like that. I just asked her to single you out on the night; just to walk up and talk to you, making it clear to me who my little bird was. Though I guess I'd have worked it out easily enough without her help." Roman placed both his hands on Jaune's shoulders, leaning down from behind to whisper into his ear. "You were too good, kid. Talent like you doesn't come along every day, and people like me don't believe in lucky breaks."

They'd been betrayed. He wasn't sure why he'd never considered it, but it seemed so obvious now. Hadn't Oobleck said contacts were just people not trustworthy enough to be Agents? That had proven prophetic.

"Oobleck and I go back a long way," Roman continued. "We were teammates together, back when we were both just stupid brats wanting to be huntsmen."

Roman had been a huntsman at Beacon? He wanted to ask when, or how, but the pain in his hand reminded him of what interrupting might entail. He cradled the limb against his chest.

"Thing is, I never realised one of my own teammates was working for someone else, let alone the Kingdom. Not until we were sent on Vale's last mistake, the colonisation of Mountain Glenn. You heard of that, kid?"

"N-No…"

"A great cock up that was and no mistake. Too much population pushed the people outside the walls, so the higher-ups came up with the plan to make a new city, a new Vale. Since you've never heard of it, I'm sure you can guess what happened."

"It was destroyed."

"Give the kid a prize. Damn right it was, and yours truly was sent along with other huntsmen into the tunnels to try and hold back the Grimm and help the civilians evacuate. We were to be the rear-guard, the protectors, the kind of nonsense we'd grown up wanting to be. But Vale… Vale had different ideas." He snarled and spat to the side. "Imagine my surprise when the tunnels start to collapse on our very heads, when walls fell in and people were being buried alive. Turned out the city didn't want to risk letting Grimm run wild in their streets, and if all those refugees came back then it would be the first problem all over again. Why not take care of both at once, eh? Call it a two-for-one deal, a bloody bargain."

"I-I don't understand…"

"The tunnels collapsed, dumping tonnes of rock down to lock the Grimm back in Mountain Glenn, along with the thousands of innocent civilians and a whole heap of huntsmen and huntresses sent along with them. Do you know what that was like, kid?"

"B-Bad, I'd imagine," Jaune whispered. "I-It sounds like a tragedy…"

"Tragedy? A Tragedy?" Roman threw his head back and laughed. "Oh, that's rich. That's _so_ fucking rich. Yeah, a tragedy. That's what I thought, too. Up until I caught my own teammate, my _own partner_ , with a detonator in hand."

Jaune's heart almost stopped. His mouth fell open. "No…"

Roman leaned forward and sneered. "Yes! I saw Bartholomew Oobleck with the very detonator that set the whole thing off! Vale didn't want us to rescue the civilians; they just wanted us to keep the Grimm at bay while _they_ set up explosives to close the tunnels. They even had the balls to try and play it off as an accident, a tragic weakness, maybe some Grimm knocking out the supports. That way the city would be able to stay sparkly clean while they brushed thousands of lives under the rug. And _my partner_ was at the centre of it all!"

"You're lying!" Jaune accused. "He wouldn't do that!"

"Ha. Shows how little you know him. That man would do whatever was necessary for the betterment of Vale, with not a care for the people who live in it. After all, he sent you to infiltrate my forces _despite_ knowing I wasn't oblivious to him _or_ the VSS. Face it, kid. He sent you into the meatgrinder on the off-chance I'd be as blind as a bat. Your life is worth pitifully little to him."

"That's… not true…"

He'd seen the look on Oobleck's face when Cardin died. He'd felt the man's anger when Cardin's father washed it away as expected. Those weren't the kinds of things that a man who didn't care would do.

 _Unless he was trying to make me believe…_

No. He wasn't falling for it. If one person here was going to lie, it would be Torchwick – not Oobleck. One was a renowned criminal, the other a part of Vale's Secret Service. "At least Oobleck isn't working with terrorists and monsters," he snapped. "You say this all went wrong because Vale killed innocent people, but that just makes you a hypocrite. You've done just as much bad!"

"Have I? Have I killed almost one-hundred thousand men, women and children? That seems a little much for a simple thief like me. But whatever. I'm not here to change your mind, kid." Roman leaned forward over the table and smiled viciously. "I'm here because I want something. And you, little lamb, are going to do your old friend a favour."

/-/

The tip of a sword whistled past Ciel's mask. She twisted to the side and slapped a palm into it, pushing it further aside. She slid down the blade to the wielder, striking out with one hand for the girl's throat – only to growl as the deceptively fast girl back-flipped away.

Name; Neopolitan. Affiliation; Torchwick. Status; Alive. She ran through everything she knew, the limited information available and mostly bolstered by the VSS. Thanks to that she knew the girl's real strength, her Semblance. Illusions. A most dangerous power and one that had already rendered an Agent out of action.

 _And she would have done the same to me had she caught me by surprise._

Luckily, _someone_ had intervened.

Another gunshot echoed through the night, impacting the floor where the girl had stood. Neo flipped back again and spared an angry glare for a building several rooftops away. Ciel could make out the barest shape of a person in one of the windows, before another flash of muzzle fire preceded a third shot, again at Neo.

"I've no idea who you are, but thanks, I guess," Ciel whispered. The person had pretty much saved her life, alerting her to the threat behind before Neo could run her through.

She'd have to find the one responsible and thank them. It had to be one of the Director's sent to assist. But first of all…

Ciel reached down to her thigh, thumbed the pad there, and released an armoured segment with an angry hiss. It jutted out two inches or less, enough space for to grasp the hilt within, drawing out a sword, long and thin with a thrusting point. It came up before her face, held vertically, and past the silvery edge she watched her opponent.

Neo hesitated, suddenly wary as she inspected the stance of the suddenly armed agent. Her mismatched eyes scanned Ciel from head to toe, and the cocky smile she'd worn a moment earlier faded away, replaced with grim resolution. She did not speak. Records didn't indicate whether she could or not.

Instead, she flickered, and vanished.

"Thermal!" Ciel snapped, twisting aside as the world was bathed in hues of blue, pink, and red. From the position of the hand she judged the blade, flicking out with her own to parry – the sparks themselves igniting crimson through her visor. She slashed at them again, driving the attack further aside. One step inward placed a foot between Neo's. She shifted to shoulder-charge, but the lithe girl fell back.

Ciel chased after, preventing her from creating distance. She hacked and slashed in a wild flurry, focusing more on strength and unpredictable movements than skill. Neo had no trouble blocking each, but on the fifth strike she fell for the feint, moving to parry another hasty strike before Ciel let go of her sword entirely, leaving it hanging in the air as she swept low and spun, slamming her heel into the back of Neo's knee. The moment the girl fell she was on her, struggling to break the sword out of her grip.

Neo flipped the lower half of her body back, driving her knees into Ciel's back. The armour protected her a little, even if she felt the impacts. She slammed Neo's wrist against the rooftop until her fingers opened reflexively, dropping the weapon.

"Surrender," she demanded, activating her speakers so the girl could hear. "Give up now and I shall ensure your safety. You will be taken in for interro-" Ciel cut off as a leg wrapped around her neck from behind, Neo somehow bending almost double to manage it. She was dragged off when the girl straightened, putting incredible pressure on her throat. She fell back, hitting the tarmac, but caught Neo by the ankle when she tried to run.

What followed was a frantic contest of strength between the two, Neo kicking down with her heeled boots and Ciel doing her best to ride through the pain, wincing whenever a heel caught her mask. The impacts alone were enough to make it crack in places, though the reinforced material thankfully held.

It would have been real convenient if her mysterious ally joined at this point. Damn it. Why hadn't the Director briefed her on this, or at least ordered the Agent to intervene in a more tactile manner? It looked like she was on her own.

Hopefully Jaune was okay.

"Alright, then," Ciel growled, pushing herself up and reaching for her discarded weapon. Neo did the same, a bruise on one cheek and a sneer on her lips. "Let's see how you do without your pretty little Semblance."

/-/

"You want _us_ to do a job… for you?"

"Did I stutter? I don't think I did. The way I see it you lot owe me for playing along with your little games. The least you can do is pay up."

"How we do we owe you anything?"

"Well, _you_ owe me for not killing you," Roman pointed out. "But on the whole, you owe me for pushing you in the right direction. After all, you wouldn't be where you are now if it wasn't for me willingly accepting a spy into my midst."

Where they were?

Jaune gasped. "Cinder!"

"Got it in one."

"You want us to get rid of Cinder for you?"

"That come as such a big surprise? I was the biggest deal in Vale before she showed up. I had the criminal underworld eating out of the palm of my hand, terrified to betray me for fear of what I might do to them. Now, I have to answer to her, not to mention I have faunus upstarts running around causing a mess. And worst of all," he hissed, "Neo and I have to play ball with whatever she wants. Well guess what, I want out."

"You want a plea deal?"

Roman snorted. "Not a chance. I'm not giving myself up. I'm making you a deal. You morons came after me because you thought I was the brains behind this. I, in turn, was kind enough to point you in the direction of the _real_ problem. Now that you've seen it, and what she's capable of, I figure you might be wise enough to cut a deal."

Jaune's head was spinning. There was just too much to take in. Roman knew, had always known, but against all odds wanted to work _with_ them to try and stop Cinder. In fact, the whole reason he'd been taken on was so that Roman could reveal Cinder to the VSS and get himself out of trouble.

And they'd never realised. Some intelligence agency…

 _Or was that just me,_ he wondered. _Did I miss the signs a more experienced Agent would have noticed? How many mistakes did I make?_

"What say you, kid? You prepared to make a deal?"

"I… I don't know. I don't have the authority for this kind of thing. I'll have to talk with Oobleck. He might-"

"See, that's the problem." Roman leaned forward, eyes glinting. "I'm making this deal with you, Jaune. Not Bart."

"What!?"

"You think I'd trust that man after everything he did? Would you in my shoes?" Roman spat his cigar into one hand and crushed it. The ashes fell onto the table. He shifted his chair so that it was half-facing away, looking toward the wall. "I'm not making a deal with someone I know will stab me in the back. He's too greedy, always wanting everything. He'd work with me as long as it took him to stab me in the back, then he'd catch both me and Cinder. I'm no idiot, kid. I'll make a deal, but it's not going to be with him and he's not going to know a damn thing about it."

"You're asking me to betray the VSS," Jaune said. "You say you're not stupid, but you expect me to be? I'd be committing treason. Oobleck would kill me!"

"You'd be doing no worse than what others do. You think the Council hasn't helped me escape trouble once or twice, or turned a blind eye when I do them a favour? Hell, if the VSS really wanted me out of the picture they could have killed me years ago. You know why they haven't? Because I keep crime down. I don't like competition, and I _hate_ waste. Hence why you never hear about shopkeepers murdered by Torchwick's thugs. I'm an asset, whether those uptight morons will admit it or not. Besides, for what I have in mind your boss wouldn't even need to know. You'd come out squeaky clean, and you'd stop Cinder."

He leaned forward and flashed a bright smile. "Isn't that a prize worth taking a few risks for?"

It was. Maybe... he just didn't know enough about her plans to be sure.

"What is it she's doing?" he asked. "What's her end game?"

"I don't know."

"Do you expect me to believe that?"

Roman shrugged. "Believe it or not; it's the truth. She doesn't trust me to keep my mouth shut, hence why she took you off my hands. I made sure to complain a little in her hearing about how you were independent and wilful, not listening to me and being ambitious. She took that and saw potential in you, ambition and greed and whatnot. You're more trusted by her than I am right now, though that can change if you don't agree to my terms."

"You're blackmailing me now?"

"I'm looking out for number one. If I can't have you on my side then I'll have no option but to throw my lot in with her, and a good way to start would be rooting out the spy in her ranks. Of course, if that spy was on _my_ side then I might be inclined to keep my mouth shut."

"How am I supposed to trust that?"

"Actions speak louder than words, kid. I've already helped you get this far. I wouldn't do that for funsies, trust me. Besides, I've helped deflect the suspicion onto those stupid animals, so I've already been looking out for you."

That was true. He'd taken it for nothing more than Roman's typical antagonism at the time, but between the two of them they'd been able to divert Cinder's attention onto the White Fang, freeing him from suspicion. To think that had been intentional on Roman's part… It really put into perspective how close to death he'd been. A single whim or change of heart from the man in front of him and he'd have been incinerated on the spot.

Curse him for being a thousand different kinds of a fool but he believed Roman. He really did. If he'd wanted to turn on him he'd have done it already. Hell, he wouldn't have put himself in danger by hiring John White in the first place. The safer thing to do would have been to simply pretend he hadn't passed muster, or that he didn't need any more men. The VSS would have never known Roman was onto them.

Instead, he'd been allowed in. He'd been trusted. And then, when the first chance arose, he'd been pushed onto Cinder.

 _That's why he took me on the robbery at the docks! Cinder specifically told him to only take faunus, but he took me along with him despite that._ It was the first definitive proof that Roman had betrayed Cinder's orders, and all to help him, and the VSS, discover the mastermind behind the operation.

"Let's say I trust you," Jaune said slowly, still more than a little panicked. "What's to say you won't betray me later down the line, when Cinder is dealt with?"

"Nothing. In fact, I'll _absolutely_ betray you."

Jaune stared at the man. He hadn't quite expected that level of blunt honesty.

"I'll betray you the same way you will me if you get the chance," Roman went on. "I know your sort; goodie-goodies who want to be the hero. If there was a chance for you to get both Cinder and me, you'd take it. So yeah, I'll betray you, but not until _she's_ out of the way. Until that happens, you can trust me."

"But only until then?" Jaune asked.

"Not a second longer. For what it's worth, I won't kill you. Someone willing to make a deal with me for mutual benefit is someone I'd rather keep alive, especially if they're in a high position. I'd betray you to get away, nothing more. Even if you can't trust me as a person, you can at least trust me to do what's best for myself." Roman snorted. "People are predictable like that, myself included. So, how about it, kid. You help me, and I'll help you. We both get to benefit."

"It sounds good," Jaune said, subtly reaching for his lapel. Roman noticed.

"Trying to get Bart's opinion? Won't work, I'm afraid. I didn't pick this place for its looks." Roman gestured to the room around them. "This whole meeting room is protected from any kind of radio communication, within or without. This place accommodates the kinds of clients that get a lot of scrutiny, who may well be saying things that aren't exactly legal. It's the perfect place for a chat like ours."

"You thought of everything," Jaune admitted, lowering his hand.

"I don't like to take chances. I can't stop you listening to me here and telling Oobleck, but what I will say is this. Vermillion isn't the only person I have who answers to me. If you tell him, and I find out, then I'll rat you out to Cinder when you're on a mission with her." Roman made a throat-slitting gesture with one finger. "And you know what she'll do to you."

"Yeah. Yeah, I do."

He was on his own. There was no way of reaching Oobleck or Ciel and no way of stalling for time. He had a feeling this was a now or never kind of deal, and that if he walked out that door he'd find his cover blown. That was if Roman didn't just blow a hole in the back of his head if he said no. Delivering the spy's dead body to Cinder would be a good way to get into her good books.

This was his decision, then. His call. Roman would turn on them when he had the chance – he'd admitted it – and there was also the possibility that this was a trap, though if so he had no idea in what way, since it was a ridiculously contrived way of going about it. Would Cinder really out herself and Emerald when they'd been effectively unknown before? He doubted it.

Though that wasn't to say Roman wasn't lying and telling the truth at the same time. Maybe he _did_ want to betray Cinder, but also wanted to get rid of the VSS and planned to pit both against one another, killing them whoever survived.

In the end, he couldn't trust anyone. It was just a question of who he trusted _less_.

Cinder…

Or Roman…

The answer was obvious; he trusted neither. But if he had to pick between the two?

"What would be the terms of our little deal?"

"Good to see you've got a head on your shoulders."

"I haven't agreed to anything yet."

"Yet," he taunted. "We both know you will, otherwise you wouldn't have asked. The terms are simple. I'll keep your cover with myself and Cinder, and even feed you what information I can to take back to Barty. In turn, you'll focus on taking down the big boss woman."

"That's it? You almost make it sound too easy…"

"Well, I already said I intend to stab you in the back last minute, so demanding you let me go is hardly an issue. I also don't _need_ anything from you. You can try and close down me and my boys, but you'll find that harder than you'd expect. There's a reason I've been around so long. Dealing with her majesty is what I'm after. Do that and we're even."

It was the VSS' goal already. Roman wasn't asking for anything he wasn't already giving. The only difference now would be that both parties were aware of the deal. "Why go open with this?" Jaune asked. "Surely it would have been better for you to have us think we'd tricked you. Then you could feed us misinformation and escape before we realised it. What's the point in going loud with this?"

"Heh, you're no idiot – I guess that's why I always liked you. Yeah, there is something I get from this; something that forced my hand. She has a plan for me coming up. One I don't like the looks of. It has _expendable_ written all over it and I've got a feeling the whole thing is a one-way trip."

Roman sighed and lit another cigar. There was a certain frustration in the way he did it that hadn't been there before. Perhaps he was just being more honest, or maybe it was that Jaune knew to look for it now. Either way, it was clear the thief wasn't as cocksure as he normally was.

"I tried to think of a way to spell it out to you, but no matter how I tried I couldn't find a route that worked out the way I wanted it. I can't betray her, and that means I have to do it. But if you lot mysteriously showed up and ruined it…"

"Then that wouldn't be your fault," Jaune finished. "You tried your best, but it just wasn't doable."

Roman made a pistol motion with two fingers. "Bingo. It's part of what I'm offering." He reached into his jacket and pulled out a scroll. He flicked it with two fingers and it sailed across the table. "That thing's encrypted. It'll take a while for Bart to break through it but break through he will. Tell him your little pal outside set me off, and that we had to run. Tell him one of my boys got knocked out in the confusion and you – enterprising little spy that you are – thought to steal his scroll."

Jaune took it, half-expecting it to blow up in his hand. It didn't. "What's in it?"

"Some finely crafted messages from me that hint at our next job. Nothing obvious but I've got a feeling the old coot will figure it out. Knowing him, you'll be sent to either infiltrate or take us down. I need you to stop me but fail to capture me. You'll have me at your mercy."

"Really? That's a lot of trust you're putting in me…"

"I'm trusting in you to not be an idiot. If you capture me then you won't get anything. You already know Cinder keeps me out of the loop. I'm worth more to the VSS, and more to you, out here and on your side. Make your choice come the moment, but I've a feeling you'll pick the right one."

Damn it. More veiled words and riddles. He had a feeling he'd be stuck dwelling on that all night. He already felt exhausted, mostly thanks to the adrenaline slowly seeping out of his system now that he knew he wasn't about to die. Now he just felt confused and tired.

"But remember, you tell Bart, and all of this goes away." Roman made a little `poof` gesture. "The moment you do, you'll not know if I've thrown you to the wolves or not. Maybe I'll pretend I haven't and lead you on, then hand you over to Cinder myself when the time is right."

And maybe Roman wouldn't realise at all, or didn't even _have_ a spy in the VSS, and Oobleck could help him make a kick-ass plan to take charge of this and solve everything. Sad thing was, he couldn't take that risk. All they'd gain from Oobleck knowing was a chance to catch Roman, too. What they'd potentially lose was so much more.

Cinder was the big picture. Her, and the White Fang.

Roman was a crook, but he was a good crook – which meant there'd be some more dust robberies, but no murder, death, kill like the White Fang were like to pull off. No Paladins taken through the streets, Bullheads on fire, or strange ginger girls coming back from the dead. It almost sounded idyllic.

And all he had to do was betray the VSS.

Again.

"Fine." Jaune snapped up the scroll and stored it away. It physically hurt to take the leap of faith, especially when his stomach flipped. "But I want you to know I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it for the VSS. I'm doing it for Vale."

"Like a good little slave, yes. I wonder if there'll be a time when you throw away ten thousand lives for the greater good, as well."

"I'm not that kind of person. I don't think Oobleck is, either."

"Heh. Find out for yourself. Maybe it'll be a way for you to see I'm trustworthy. Much of what I've told you is a matter of official record… if you know where to look."

He made a note of that, even if he made sure he didn't give it away. His heart still trusted Oobleck. The man had been totally honest to him and helped him into Beacon. There was just this niggling voice in the back of his head, one that sounded awfully like Roman, which pointed out that all of that might just have been so Oobleck could use him. The only reason he was in Beacon was because it benefitted the VSS, and by extension the people of Vale. Nothing more.

"Then we work together," Jaune said. "For now…"

"For now," Roman agreed. "Good to have you on board, John. I'm sure this is the start of a _beautiful_ relationship."

/-/

Jaune ran his tongue around the inside of his mouth as he stood in the alleyway, waiting for Ciel to return. His breath came out in cold wisps of air and his hands were jammed into his pockets. Second thoughts didn't even begin to describe what he was feeling. His mind was running at a thousand thoughts per minute.

Something hit the floor behind him. "You alright?" Ciel asked through mask that was cracked in two places.

"I'm fine. You're the one who looks like she lost a fight with a brick wall."

Ciel snorted. "That's one way to put it. I was rumbled. They knew I'd be here." She eyed him curiously. "I thought you might be in trouble. Did the other Agent get you out?"

Other Agent?

"Not at all." Jaune sighed and closed his eyes. "Torchwick figured someone had just followed me, but he didn't actually suspect I was behind it."

"Really? I guess he's not as intelligent as he's made out to be. I fail to see why Vale has struggled with him for so long."

The irony was thick. Jaune was just annoyed he was the only one who could appreciate it. At least his lie had gotten passed her, though that was probably thanks to her being exhausted. "What was that about another agent?" he asked.

"Someone saved me up there," Ciel admitted, somewhat grudgingly. "That Neo girl nearly got the drop on me thanks to her illusions, but someone pushed her back with small arms fire. I thought I was being shot at, but the warning gave me the time I needed to defend myself. I'll have to thank the agent later."

 _Oobleck doesn't have enough agents to be sending out. That's why we're being forced to work together. Don't tell me…_

He had a feeling he knew who was responsible for this one.

"I'm sure you'll get your chance," he lied. "We need to get back to Beacon."

"You have Intel for the Director?"

"Possible." He opened his jacket. "Torchwick decided we should cut out meeting short when the gunfire started. I managed to snatch someone's scroll when we did. Hopefully it'll have something the Director can use."

Ciel nodded, and even though he couldn't see her face the silence suggested she was almost impressed with him. That only made it worse, somehow. Roman's word had better be good, otherwise he might be delivering some kind of trap to Oobleck. He'd have to trust the man wouldn't fall for such a thing; he was far too paranoid for that.

Still, he was on his own now. Ciel couldn't know and neither could Oobleck, and with Vanguard gone there was no one else he could trust, and certainly no one he could turn to for help.

Or was there…?

Roman had said he'd find out if the VSS learned of this, and Oobleck would obviously be pissed if _he_ learned about the deal he'd just made. Ciel had her own agendas, and the last thing he wanted was Atlas adding their own blackmail onto him.

But there _was_ someone else who was outside of all of that.

If everyone was going to try and take advantage of him, then maybe it was time he started to think the same way. Roman and Oobleck weren't the only ones who could make shady deals. They weren't the only ones who could have contacts, agents, and allies in hidden places.

And he had a feeling Blake would be only _too happy_ to help.

* * *

 **Ah, the tangled webs we weave. I think it's always been obvious Roman wouldn't** _ **want**_ **to work for Cinder, and he made that clear enough in the show, but I did feel a little disappointed it never went anywhere. I feel like a lot more could have been made of the Beacon arcs, especially since Roman was such an interesting character, had a really interesting speech at the end, and then just got a pointlessly lame death. It wasn't even Ruby beating him, just a silly Deus ex Machina.**

 **Anyway, what's a spy story without issues of loyalty, huh? I'm sure there are plenty of people who will be furious that Jaune** _ **yet again**_ **went behind the VSS' back, but I tried to make it clear the options were limited. If he said no, Roman would kill him then and there. He can go on to tell Oobleck, but Roman's threat is still there. That'll be a choice for Jaune next chapter.**

 **And, well, the bigger question, too. Just how far** _ **is**_ **Oobleck using Jaune?**

 **Is it as bad as Roman said? Or was he just trying to get into Jaune's head?**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 25** **th** **February**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	30. Chapter 30

**Okay, I'm super sick today for some reason. Just the flu, I think, but a nasty strain going around. It's left me equal parts exhausted and out of sorts, so this chapter is a tiny bit shorter, though not by much. Hopefully it's still good. We'll see.**

* * *

 **Cover Art:** Kegi Springfield

 **Chapter 30**

* * *

"You've done well, Rat." Oobleck took the stolen scroll from Jaune and placed it on his desk, poking a little at the screen but giving up once he realised it was encrypted. "I'll have someone at the HQ crack this and see what we can find. Does your cover remain sound?"

"For now, yes," Jaune half-lied. It was too much of a risk to tell Oobleck the truth, if only because Roman's apparent spies in the VSS might find out, and that would mean the death of him and Cinder running free. "Cinder wants me to do a task for her in Beacon. I'm to sabotage the CCT with a virus she provided." He proffered the scroll containing that, but Oobleck shook his head.

"Keep it. You'll need it."

"You want me to go ahead with it?"

"I want you to indulge her for now. Whatever she uploads I'll be sure to have someone look into, but we can't afford to lose the faith she has in you at this time."

"And what if it's something bad?" he asked.

"I'll have a failsafe placed in the CCT, allowing us to shut it down remotely. If she ever attempts something using it, we'll close it. The loss of distance calls will be a small price to pay for preventing whatever she has in mind." Oobleck tapped his desk with one finger, lost in thought for a few long moments. "This is a test from her, but for the life of me I cannot understand why. I think it's time for you to appear a little more `human`, however."

"What do you mean?"

"He means that you need to fail," Ciel said, answering for him. She'd removed her damaged outfit and slipped back into the blue skirt and pale top she'd worn before. Her hair was a little out of place, however, highlighting just how frustrated she was at having been caught and pushed away by Neo.

"Wait, so you _don't_ want me to upload the virus?"

"I want you to do it and then be caught in the act," Oobleck explained. "My fear is that you've been _too effective_ so far with her, and that is bound to raise suspicion sooner or later. Driving a vehicle down a highway is not quite the same as infiltrating a school for huntsmen on the edge of a forest filled with Grimm. Simply put, this task is too much for what you are supposed to be."

Oobleck was right. That really was too much for someone who was supposed to be a failed applicant turned common criminal, with no weapon to his name other than a knife. He bit his lip and glanced between Ciel and Oobleck, suddenly wary.

"Do you think she's onto me? Does she know…?"

The encounter with Roman had already proven he wasn't infallible – and now he couldn't shake the idea. That was probably for the best, since the paranoia might keep him alive.

"I don't think she knows or she would have killed you by now, Jaune. Calm down." Oobleck poured him some bourbon and Jaune snatched it the moment it was full, downing it. His nerves had already been frayed beyond all repair before.

"Sorry if I find staying calm a little difficult, Director. My life is on the line!"

"And I would not throw it away, Jaune," Oobleck said, chuckling to himself.

 _You wouldn't throw it away, or you wouldn't throw it away lightly?_ How many? What was the number required before Oobleck considered an under skilled Agent's life a fair trade? Jaune's hands tightened into fists, but he caught himself at the last second.

Why was he believing Roman so easily? The man was a crook!

 _I can't jump to conclusions. Oobleck has been good to me. Roman would want to sever our trust so I rely on him instead, making it more likely I'd help him in the future._ He wouldn't fall for it. Not without discovering the truth for himself first.

Though even then, that didn't allow him to relax his guard entirely.

" _Find out for yourself. Maybe it'll be a way for you to see I'm trustworthy. Much of what I've said is a matter of official record."_ Roman had sounded so confident. Would he really have been so relaxed about it if it were so easily disproved?

"Jaune, are you listening?"

"Huh?" Jaune started, quickly realising he'd drifted off. "Sorry, I was… I was just thinking about what Cinder wants me to do."

Oobleck sighed and waved a hand. "That's fine, but please listen. This is surely a test and a task mixed into one from her, and I think a little compromise might be warranted. You'll place the virus as requested and do so on the eve of the dance. However, I want you to be seen doing so – but not to be caught. This will allow our allies to realise something is wrong without us having to inform them, while Cinder cannot complain because she will know you tried your hardest."

"You don't think she'll be angry?" he asked.

"I think she will be a little upset, but that is preferable to her being suspicious. Realistically however, I doubt she will be either. It would be a fool that would expect you to succeed at this without some level of complication."

"Ciel can catch me, then."

"That wouldn't be wise. I'd rather any suspicion be taken away from her." Oobleck leaned back. "There will be plenty of other people around at the dance, though. I'm sure you could convince one of them to notice or follow you. Just be careful. You can't afford to be captured."

"Alright. I'll handle it."

Oobleck nodded and turned to Ciel, debriefing her on the operation and instructing her to get some rest – providing an excuse she could give to his team, so as to not appear suspicious. She nodded, provided a quick report on Neo, and then left with a quick salute.

"I suppose it was inevitable someone would think to check you for followers at some point," he said once she was gone. "We're fortunate Ciel managed to survive, though this person who rescued her. Do you know who it was?"

"Ciel said it was someone from the VSS," Jaune said, careful not to tell an explicit lie.

"It wasn't. I had no one else accompanying you."

"I was inside with Torchwick, sir. I didn't see anything."

"Did _he_ say anything?"

"He mentioned that I'd been followed, and that Neo was going to deal with it."

"I see." Oobleck hummed and looked down at the scroll. "Very well. That's enough for now and I've got plenty to work through. Was there anything else you needed, or are you content to continue the mission with the CCT?"

"There's nothing really," he said, backing toward the door. He paused, however. "How did you join the VSS, Director?"

Oobleck glanced up. "Hm? That's quite the unusual question. What's brought this sudden curiosity on?"

"I was just thinking of how I joined." Jaune said, careful not to say anything a blatant lie in case Oobleck's Semblance kicked in. At the same time, he was ready to bolt, even if he didn't know where he'd go. "You said Ca- Vanguard was born into it, that it was passed down through the family. Was it the same with you?"

Luckily, Oobleck seemed more amused by the question than concerned. "Not quite," he chuckled. "I was… I suppose you could say I was recruited, much like yourself. It was a desperate time and neither I nor the VSS had much choice in the matter. There were… things that had to be done, and little time for second thoughts." His face darkened for an instant, before it was normal again. "Is that enough for you? I'm sure you'll understand if I don't provide for you my life history."

"No, that's enough. I was just curious. I'll leave you to your work."

/-/

In the end he didn't need to corner Blake. She cornered him, catching his sleeve as he walked by a classroom and drawing him into it. It was obvious she'd been out, if not from her combat uniform than from the expression on her face.

"That was you with the gunshots, wasn't it?"

"It was."

No apology there, of course, not that he expected one from her. Jaune sighed and ran a hand through his hair, unsure if he should be upset or not. On the one part she'd gone against his wishes and gotten involved out of hand. On the other, Ciel was only alive because she had – and if things had gotten worse and Roman turned on him, then his only chance would have been Blake.

"You saved Ciel."

"You mean the mysterious Agent who definitely isn't Ciel," she corrected with a smirk. "If you're still trying to stick to that story, I mean." Her smile faded when she saw how serious he was. She nodded. "I didn't intend to reveal myself, but she failed to notice the person behind her. I had to do something. Your life might have depended on it."

"I'm glad you did."

Blake raised an eyebrow. "You're not going to complain that I didn't trust you?"

"Not this time…" He wasn't sure who he trusted himself at the moment, but out of everyone he felt Blake might be the closest. Not because she was inherently trustworthy, but rather because he knew what she wanted.

It was like Roman had said; you could always trust someone to work in their own interests. Oobleck's were unknown, Roman's were unknown, hell, even Ciel might have had something more to her than stopping the Paladin.

Blake, though? He knew exactly what she wanted – and that made her trustworthy. At least as long as what he wanted her help for coincided with stopping the White Fang.

"I need your help, Blake."

"Oh?"

He nodded to a set of seats and the two sat down, Blake listening intently as he told her not only about what had just happened with Roman, but also everything he knew about Cinder. That she was using the White Fang, that she had her own goals, and that she wanted him to sabotage the CCT for her. He left nothing out, not even Oobleck's instructions to go ahead with the sabotage.

His partner leaned back when he was done, looking equal parts intrigued and shocked. "I knew the White Fang wouldn't do this on her own. I just knew it. Even if they'd do some terrible things, they'd never try something so dramatic would help."

"The goal at the minute is to try and stop Cinder," he said. "And that's both Oobleck _and_ Torchwick's goal. I can't tell the Director about Roman or there's a chance he'll find out and kill me or lose me my cover with Cinder." Which would end with her killing him, leading to much the same fate.

"Do you think Torchwick told the truth when he claimed to have spies in the VSS?"

"I don't know. He knew my name though, so he either has spies in the VSS or Beacon. No idea which is more likely, but if it's Beacon, then that means the spy knows I'm VSS anyway." It was all a complicated mess. "The safest bet is to assume he has a way of watching me."

"Which means you can't tell Oobleck," Blake agreed. "But _I'm_ not included in that."

"That's my hope. You're my partner, so it makes sense for us to talk and hang out. As long as we're careful to make sure we're not heard it shouldn't be an issue. I know Roman is going to back stab me sooner or later. I'd prefer to have someone to watch my back for when he tries."

"Well, you'll have me. I'll do whatever it takes to bring Cinder to justice – and hopefully Roman, too. Trust me, Jaune. You won't regret it."

"I hope not."

She leaned forward. "So, what do you need?"

"I need someone to catch me in the act at the CCT, but I can't be captured. I need to escape."

Blake nodded. "Leave it to me. If you let me know what time you intend to strike, I'll make an excuse for fresh air and head outside. There are guards on the CCT now. Do you intend to knock them out?"

"I'll probably have to. I have some tricks that'll help with that."

"Good. Leave one of them in the bushes nearby, but make sure a foot sticks out. I'll claim I saw that and investigated. Once I see you we can rough each other up before you escape. Is that good enough?"

"It is. Thanks, Blake. This'll make life a lot easier for me."

"Not a problem. We're working together now, and I'd rather be doing _something_ against the White Fang if I can." Blake's smile became contemplative. "You know, it might be better if you and I went to the dance together. That way no one would notice your absence."

"No. I promised I'd go with Ruby. I'm not going back on that."

"Because of your mission?"

"No, I…" Jaune sighed. "I don't think Ruby is a threat to the VSS. I'm sure Ozpin is interested in her, but I'm convinced she doesn't know why. She's honest to a fault. I can tell that much."

"Then why go with her? You don't need to anymore."

He didn't, and technically speaking life would be easier if that were the case. Blake and he could slip away and do what they had to with no one being the wiser. Still, something held him back. Something prevented him from accepting.

He wasn't sure what it was. Did he have feelings for Ruby? He didn't think so. She'd been a mission before she was a person, and even though they'd spent time together afterwards, she was more a friend than anything else. It honestly didn't feel like he had the time to worry about getting a girlfriend, not with all the stuff going on now.

"I've made up my mind," he decided. "I said I'd go with Ruby and I will."

Blake watched him for a few long seconds before nodding. "Very well. Just let me know what time you intend to strike. I'll be outside in time to catch you."

"Thanks."

Sensing there was nothing more to be said, Blake nodded and rose to her feet, making her way toward the door. She was almost at it before he called out, bringing her to a halt once more. "What is it?" she asked.

"Have you…" He hadn't been sure if he was going to ask or not, but the words already halfway out, he forced himself to continue. "Have you heard of a place called Mountain Glenn?"

"The name sounds familiar, but I can't place it. Is it important?"

"Not to the White Fang," he said. "Just… it's something I need to look up. Forget about it. I'll let you know when I intend to make a move on the CCT, and I'll also tell you if Roman has me doing any jobs for him. I could use your help on those since Ciel and Oobleck can't know."

"Right. Just come to me whenever you need it. I'll make time."

/-/

"Mountain Glenn, Mountain Glenn…" Jaune leafed through the textbook, but nothing came from it. It was just too focused on the past, discussing history well over a hundred years old, where Roman had said this was recent. Within in his lifespan, at least. The book closed and Jaune leaned back, letting out a long sigh.

Over an hour in the library after dinner, a day after the meeting with Roman, and he was still no closer to an answer. For all that the crook had said it was official record, that didn't make it easy to find. _I could use the VSS HQ to find it for me, but Oobleck would find out. Just my luck to have access to one of the best information sources in the Kingdom and not be able to use it._

Of course, if the textbooks were without then that left one option – an option he'd been avoiding due to the sheer amount of time it would take.

Digging through news reports.

"Wonderful…"

With a yarn, he pushed the text book aside and brought up the terminal, flicking to a database of newspapers and starting to go back through them. If he'd had a date it might have been easier, but the best he had was that it must have roughly been between ten and thirty years ago. Again, if he'd been able to access the VSS he could have found out what date it was when Oobleck was a student, narrowing all of this down, but the Director would definitely want to know why _he_ was being investigated by one of his own Agents.

His eyes scanned the screen again and again. Pages and pages were scrolled through, years passing by in the blink of newspaper headlines. At least he figured it would be a headline, saving some work, but still, this was ridiculous.

"Jaune?"

"Ruby?"

"I thought it was you!" Ruby said, grinning as she hurried over. She pulled out a seat and sat down next to him. "What are you doing? Homework?"

His hand twitched towards the button to hid everything from view, but he held himself back at the last second. Nothing here was particularly secret. "No, just looking up something I heard about. Someone in Vale mentioned it and I wanted to see if it was true."

"What?"

"It's a place called Mountain Glenn. I don't suppose you've heard of it before, have you?"

Ruby shook her head. "Nope. What is it, a place?"

"It was."

"Was? What happened to it?"

"I don't know." At least not for sure. "That's what I want to find out. Text books aren't helping, though. I'm digging through newspapers."

"Hmm… have you tried asking Doctor Oobleck? He _is_ our history teacher."

"I'd rather not bother him. If we asked in one of our lessons it would only lead to it dragging on for an hour or more. Besides, I wanted to see what the official record was. You know Oobleck likes to put his own bias on things." None of which had bothered him in the past, since Oobleck cared for things like equality, and saw the faunus wars as a huge waste of time and resources.

"Well, we could ask a different teacher." Ruby suggested, not at all put off. "Look, the headmaster is over there!"

Ozpin? Jaune leaned around the terminal to see where she was pointing, and indeed Ozpin was sat at a desk, sipping some coffee and leafing idly through a thick tome. He didn't look busy, and the way he idly played with the pages suggested he was relaxing.

Still, this was Ozpin. One of the first lessons Oobleck had given him was never to return to the scene of a crime and approaching the man he was meant to be spying on wasn't a good idea – especially when he'd just bugged the man's office a few days ago. Unfortunately, Ruby didn't seem to agree.

"Come on, Jaune. I bet he'll know."

"Ruby, wait-"

She didn't. Grabbing him by the arm she dragged him off his seat and over to Ozpin, who noticed their approach and closed the book before him, smiling genially. "Good afternoon Miss Rose, Mr Arc. How are you today?"

"We're fine, sir," Ruby replied, returning the smile with one of her own. "I was just coming to find Jaune, and he was trying to find something out in the library. We, that is to say I, thought you might be able to help."

"Oh?" Ozpin sounded intrigued and looked toward Jaune. He shrugged back, unsure what to say or how. "Well, far be it for me to stand in the way of two students wishing to learn. I cannot promise to know everything but ask away. I'll answer if I can."

Ruby grinned and look to Jaune, making it clear she'd done her part and the rest was now his. She looked so proud to have helped that he didn't dare deny her. Maybe she had a point. It was better than confronting Oobleck directly.

"It's about something I heard in Vale," he said. "About a place called Mountain Glenn. I wanted to know if what I heard was true."

"Mountain Glenn…" Ozpin's smile fell. "I see. Tell me, where did you hear about this?"

"In Vale," he lied. "From a huntsman. In a bar."

"And what did this huntsman tell you?" Ozpin asked. His voice was so serious that the smile on Ruby's face faltered and she looked between the two of them nervously. Luckily, he'd prepared his excuse ahead of time in case Oobleck asked.

"He said it was a tragedy, but one that the city knew about and took part in."

"I see. Very well, I suppose I should fill you both in on the matter since it would do no good for you to work on incomplete information." The headmaster gestured to the seats nearby, and Jaune and Ruby slowly sat down. "Allow me to explain in full before you interrupt, if I may. Some of the subject can be quite contentious, and I know you will want to ask many questions. You particularly, Miss Rose."

"Me?"

"Yes. Now, in its most simple of terms Mountain Glenn was to be a second Vale set within the Kingdom, a walled city the likes of which no settlement could compare to. It would have as much, if not more, amenities than Vale – and in time would hopefully become a new major city, not only granting Vale great wealth and power, but also proving to the world that humanity could indeed take land back from the Grimm, earning out place in the world. It was to be the beginning of a resurgence. But, like so many other things on Remnant, the reality was not quite so simple."

"Vale had a large over-crowding problem at the time, necessitating the construction of Mountain Glenn," he explained. "Even the construction effort itself was to alleviate this, sending thousands of builders, labourers and craftsmen out of the city – guarded by soldiers and huntsmen. Deep tunnels were constructed under Vale to connect us to Mountain Glenn, with rail tracks laid to act as transport. All seem to go well, and Mountain Glenn reached completion. Settlers were promised a new life there, and financial incentives like tax relief and free healthcare were provided, making it an attractive prospect for those who had been unable to excel in Vale. It was a city of opportunity, a place of progress."

"What happened?" Ruby asked. Her voice wavered. She could tell from his alone that the story had no happy ending, and neither of them had heard of Mountain Glenn.

"Mountain Glenn fell. Few know the true reason and there are many competing theories, but the reality of the matter was that the Grimm found a way inside and began to massacre the inhabitants." Ozpin paused to allow Ruby a moment to gasp. "Those who survived attempted to flee to Vale, using the tunnels that were but half completed. The tunnels themselves were fine, but the tracks had not been laid in full. Many were on foot."

"We, of course, moved to defend them," Ozpin said, waving a hand. "I was there, as were many from Beacon and a trove of huntsmen and huntresses, along with law enforcement and emergency services, all working together to defend the survivors and slay the Grimm, buying as much time as we could."

"Was it enough?" Ruby asked. "Did they make it back safely?"

"I'm afraid not. The tunnels collapsed, trapping many of the survivors on the other side – sealing the Grimm away from Vale, but leaving many behind to die."

Ruby gasped and held both hands before her mouth. In contrast, Jaune leaned in, more interested than he'd ever been. "It was an accident, then?" he asked. "You said the tunnel collapsed. I was told it was intentional, but that was wrong, right?"

"When the tunnels originally collapsed it was the weakening walls and structural damage done by the Grimm that contributed. With so much firepower being thrown around, it was perhaps inevitable that some stray blasts might cause a tragic accident."

His relief was palpable. Roman had lied. Oobleck hadn't been responsible. He'd known it inside, but the doubt… he wouldn't fall for it again.

"Or at least that is what we were led to believe," Ozpin said, crushing Jaune's good mood instantly. "The truth was far darker."

Ruby swallowed. "The truth?"

"Soon after the disaster a certain someone was able to find evidence that proved, beyond a doubt, that the collapse of the tunnels was in fact not an accident at all. It was a deliberate act of sabotage, made with the express purpose of sacrificing those within Mountain Glenn to protect Vale."

"No!" Ruby whispered. "Why? Who would do such a thing?"

"It was ordered by the Council, Miss Rose, though enacted by someone else. They intended to hide this, and when the truth was unveiled you can rest assured that many suffered for the deceit. The scandal that had been Mountain Glenn was enough to weaken all of them, but to learn that they had knowingly condemned thousands to die – and then hidden it to save their own skin? It was too much for the people."

It had been too much for Roman, apparently. Jaune's spirits sank. It could have been a coincidence. It could have been a lie. But somehow, somewhere, he knew it wasn't. Who else would the Council turn to in order to have the tunnels collapsed? Who else would be prepared to weigh the lives of people against the well-being of Vale? It was practically what the VSS stood for. Work done from the shadows for the greater good of Vale - at the expense of Mountain Glenn.

And chances were Oobleck had been the one to pull the trigger. That would probably make Roman the one who exposed the deceit, releasing the truth, crushing the Council – and making himself public enemy number one in the same instant. He'd have never been allowed to become a huntsman again, always hunted for his crimes against Vale.

With that in mind, why not mock the city even further by becoming its greatest thief?

 _Damn it,_ he cursed. It wasn't as bad as he'd thought – it was worse. If Oobleck was prepared to do all of that, then what assurance did he have for his own life? None. That was how much. Roman might be willing to backstab him at a moment's notice, but at least he was upfront about it. Would Oobleck give him the same courtesy?

"Mountain Glenn is a stain on the honour of Vale, and not something often talked about." Ozpin said. "Still, it wouldn't surprise me to hear some of those who were involved cursing about it in a bar. I hope I've answered your questions here, even if they were not answered in the way you would have liked."

"It's enough," Jaune said, taking Ruby by the shoulders. She was still too shocked, too appalled. "Thank you, sir. And thanks for trying to save those people, too. I'm glad you weren't involved in the collapse."

"Myself as well, Mr Arc." Ozpin said, nodding. "Myself as well."

The two of them retreated back to their original table, leaving Ozpin behind – though the headmaster rose with a sigh not a moment later and departed, presumably too distracted now to do whatever it was he'd originally had in mind.

"Ruby," Jaune whispered, touching the girl's cheek. "Ruby, snap out of it. You okay?"

"E-Eh." She shook her head. "Y-Yeah, I was just…" She trailed off.

"I know. I feel the same way."

"All those people," she whispered. "How could someone do that? How could they think that was the right thing to do?"

"I'm sure they thought it was the right thing for Vale," he said, unsure why he was trying to make excuses. Perhaps as part of the VSS he felt he had a responsibility. Maybe he felt guilt for being involved at all, if only be association. "Maybe they thought the damage the Grimm would have done to Vale would be that much worse, that the only way to stop a massacre of epic proportions was to strike early and seal the tunnels."

"M-Maybe… but if that were true when they not explain it? Why keep it a secret?"

Because politics. There was no doubt in him there. Oobleck might have had his reasons, but the Council wanted it clandestine to protect their own hides. Maybe it was considered for the betterment of Vale's reputation, or maybe they just didn't care.

 _Either way, it got rid of the over-population problem,_ he thought morbidly. Surely that hadn't been a consideration. The Grimm he could understand, but Oobleck wouldn't have counted over-crowding as a threat to be dealt with, would he?

"It's just wrong!" Ruby finally decided. "W-We're huntresses, huntsmen… we're supposed to fight against Grimm and protect people, not do things for our own benefit. We're not meant to sneak around and blow up tunnels to trap people who can't fight with Grimm. We should have been there alongside them! We should have been _saving_ them!"

"I know, but-"

"No buts," she snapped, and the raw _passion_ in her voice froze him. "I became a huntress for one reason and one reason only. I'm going to help people. I'm going to save people. I'm going to make sure no one has to grow up without a mom because of the Grimm, and that people don't need to be afraid when I'm around. Because I'll look after them. I'll do what's right. This… this wasn't right. It still isn't right." Ruby's eyes shone, and she clenched one hand into a fist. "I'll never let something like it happen again. I promise!"

Against all odds, and against all better sense, he believed her. There was just something so implacable about her words, her ideals. It sounded childish, but it didn't. From anyone else it would have been, but from her it was nothing more than a simple statement of fact.

And in that brief instant he realised just why he wanted to stay with her, be a friend with her, and even go to the dance with her. It was because she represented everything he wished _he_ could be. A hero, a selfless warrior, someone who was so certain in their ideals that nothing could shake them.

Because he sure as hell wasn't on his.

 _I wanted to be a huntsman. Dad never wanted me to, but I wanted to be the hero who slew the Grimm. Now look at me. I'm a spy running around betraying everyone, making deals with criminals and already planning how to sabotage the CCT._ What would his father think of him now? Ha. Nothing bad, knowing the old man. But that didn't matter. He had enough self-hate for the two of them.

It was just that when he was around Ruby he was able to pretend otherwise, to bask in her presence and feel like he was a part of it.

"You're really something amazing, Ruby."

"W-What!?" she yelped, suddenly far less confident and far redder in the face. "N-No I'm not. I have normal knees."

"You don't," he said, earning a horrified expression from the girl. "But that's fine. I wouldn't have you any other way. I don't even think you'd be the same person if you were different. I'm glad you're not."

"T-That doesn't make any sense. Geez, you're talking so weird." She laughed nervously and looked everywhere but into his eyes. "I'm not all that special, though. I'm just me."

Jaune smiled. "Then keep being you."

"Oh, that reminded me!" Ruby jumped on the chance to change the subject like she would a plate of cookies. "I came to find you to ask you a question. The dance is the day after tomorrow. Are we still…?"

"Going together?" he asked.

Ruby nodded nervously.

"I still want to. But I'll understand if you don't…"

"No, no, no," Ruby shook her head. "I want to. I mean, I'd still… I'd not made any other plans. I just… you know… didn't know if you had."

"I haven't. I still intend to go with you. I've been looking forward to it."

"Yeah…?" Ruby phrased it as a question, then likely realised what the answer might involve and coloured. She whipped her head from side to side and stood up. "W-Well, I just wanted to ask so I knew. Yang is forcing me out to get a dress tomorrow, so I wanted to be sure. T-Thanks for still wanting to." She grinned, and although he had a feeling Mountain Glenn hadn't been forgotten, Ruby had buried it away, maybe even supressed it entirely with the sure knowledge that she would never let a similar tragedy happen again. "I'll see you later," she said, hurrying away, though not without a stop to wave at him.

Jaune waved back and continued to do so until she'd left the library altogether. She took her calming presence with her, leaving him to dark thoughts and darker deeds. Roman's words had led to questions, but the answers to those only posed more, and those answers in turn only the man himself would know. He had a feeling that had been Roman's plan all along. He'd have to play ball still, all the while trying to figure out who he could trust more. Or who he could trust the least, perhaps. Which would backstab him first.

As he thought on that, his eyes caught a flash if green over by the table they'd been sat at before. Two new students sitting down, moving a book out of the way, the one that Ozpin had been reading but had left behind. He stood slowly, moving over toward it.

"Mine if I take this?" he asked the students, not really recognising them. "I left it behind."

"Knock yourself out," the girl said, handing it over.

"Thanks."

He inspected the cover as he made his way back. It was a book on fairy tales; an odd choice for the headmaster to be reading, but the pages were weathered and torn, indicating extreme age and frequent use. Odd, given that most people in Beacon would be too old to care about them. He weighed it in his hands, considered it.

The loyal follower in him said to tell Oobleck. It might be nothing, but it might be a clue. Maybe it would hint to something. That was perhaps the correct choice. It was the easy choice. But then he'd be at the mercy of everyone else again. He tucked it under his arm instead and made his way toward the exit to check it out.

Perhaps it was time he did a little investigation of his own. If knowledge was power, then he, for once, intended not to be left behind.

* * *

 **Ugh, this sickness. Please. So aggravating. Always on a weekend. Anyway, here you go. It's a tad shorter. Not much I can do. Jaune is finally coming into his own a little, learning to think for himself, plan for himself, look into things for himself. Perhaps a pawn no longer, unwilling to remain blind to the VSS, but also not willing to play Roman's game.**

 **A start of something more, perhaps.**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 4** **th** **March**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	31. Chapter 31

**Ah, the weekend of snow-sabotaged internet and blistering cold. Typical March weather, am I right? Well, the story moves on and I'm keeping this one going at a straight pace, trying desperately to avoid it being side-tracked like White Sheep was.**

* * *

 **Cover Art:** Kegi Springfield

 **Chapter 31**

* * *

Fairy tales. The book was filled with fairy tales.

His first instinct was to put it down, but that was tempered by professional interest and he instead forced himself to read through it. There was no way Ozpin was sitting down to read a few chapters of Little Bo Peep, so there had to be something more to it.

Most fairy tales were told to teach a lesson to children – things like `don't trust strangers` or `be patient in life` or `don't go into the forest alone or the Beowolf will get you`. Some were also folklore, talking more about distant cultures and beliefs. It was those that Jaune naturally gravitated to, not out of personal interest, but because the corners of the pages there were more crinkled. They'd seen more use.

"Developing a taste for children's bedtime stories now?" Ciel asked, stood at the tip of his bed with hands on her hips.

Jaune slowly turned a page. "Shouldn't you be getting ready for the dance?"

"Penny wants my help later and I promised I would. I'll get changed after that."

"You have a date?"

"I'm going with Penny," she said. "As a friend. Don't get excited."

He wasn't really sure what to say about that. Ciel's words might have carried their usual bite, but there was something missing. Her heart wasn't really in it. She was still shaken from her near-death experience with Neo, and he had a feeling that fight had been far closer than her report had suggested. The attempts to nettle him felt more like she was seeking comfort in the status quo.

Since that was mostly his fault, since he'd been the one discovered by Roman, he played along and pretended he hadn't realised.

"Not sure why I'd be interested at all." He glanced up. "What kind of dress do you have?"

"Curious question for someone with no interest." Ciel turned to the side, shooting him a side-on grin that didn't _quite_ manage to be as smug as it normally would be. "I'll have to watch my back tonight. Don't get any ideas."

"I'd rather dance with Penny," he snorted.

"Would you? Hm, I'll be sure to tell her that. She'll be pleased."

"Don't," he snipped, looking up. He eyed Pyrrha and Ren, one of which was in the bathroom getting changed, the other buried in a book and ignoring what he called Jaune and Ciel's continuous flirting. Realising they weren't looking, and not worried if Blake was, he lowered his voice. "I have a few things to do tonight."

The mission. The CCT. Ciel's eyes narrowed and she nodded imperceptibly. Teasing aside, he knew she wouldn't do anything that might compromise the mission.

Ciel's scroll went off a second later, the dark-skinned girl holding a hand up in mute apology as she answered. "Ye- Penny? Why-? No, don't panic, there are a few hours left before the- you tried to put it on yourself? Penny, I _told_ you I'd come and help. Ruby-? Penny, I wouldn't trust her with a leotard, let alone a ball gown." Ciel palmed her face and sighed. "Wait right there and don't get anymore tangled. I'll come and sort it out."

"Duty calls?" Jaune asked when she hung up.

"Your girlfriend is a menace. I need to go save my partner."

"She's not…" He sighed, realising she'd finally managed one decent blow there. She did too, judging from her smirk. "Get going, you," he growled. "It'll be good to have the room back to the four of us."

"Try not to get distracted by me tonight when you're supposed to be showing your date a good time," she called. The door clicked shut before he could shoot some witty response back, and he was left to glare at Ren instead as the other boy chuckled.

"Something funny, Ren?"

"Hm, I wonder." He smiled but didn't look up over his book. "The two of you make for a fun show. I'm surprised you're not going to the dance with her."

There was no correct answer to that; with the background Ciel had given them, he had once held a crush on her – and she'd broken his heart. At least Blake knew that was BS, but there was little he could do about the others. His only relief was that Ciel hadn't shared it with Ruby or Yang, since that would have come back to bite him over his date with Ruby. Then again, Ciel like to irritate him but she wasn't a bitch and he doubted she'd go that far.

 _Just an arrogant girl with a chip on her shoulder and a perfect mission streak I ruined. Huh, Weiss was pretty arrogant at first, too. Are all people from Atlas like that?_

No, wait. Penny was pretty nice… if you ignored the whole `rising from the dead` issue. He _really_ wished he hadn't made a deal not to investigate that, since even if it wasn't exactly crucial to his mission it weight on his curiosity every time he saw her.

Still, things were looking up for the evening. He had a date with Ruby, which even if it wasn't romantic looked set to be a fun time with a good friend. He had a mission, but Blake had already promised to help. And to kick it all off, there wasn't set to be much in the way of danger. Well, other than Ruby piercing his heels when they danced.

The door to the bathroom opened and Pyrrha came out, dressed in a red gown that accentuated her hair and clung to her figure. He whistled and was about to tell her how good she looked, but she beat him to it.

"Did Ciel already leave?"

"I'm afraid so," Ren said.

"Aw. I wanted to watch her and Jaune argue."

Ren laughed. Blake snorted. Jaune flipped Pyrrha the bird, and the girl in question giggled into her hand. Traitors, all of them. Since when had he become the team's source of premium entertainment? That totally wasn't fair.

"Are you and Ren going together?" he asked, changing the subject.

"As friends, yes," Pyrrha replied. She stepped aside as Ren entered the bathroom to take a shower. Once the sound of running water drowned him out, she continued, this time in a slightly quieter voice. "Nora was too embarrassed to ask him, but also worried someone else might. I offered to go as friends and make sure he has a dance or two with her."

"That's sweet of you," Blake said, turning a page in her own novel. "Then again, if she doesn't make a move eventually someone else will."

"Maybe she will tonight," Pyrrha said.

"If miracles exist…"

"What about you?" Pyrrha asked.

Blake sighed. "I'm going alone."

"No one asked you?"

"A blonde faunus did," she said. "His name was Sun. I didn't know him, so I said no, but I promised him a dance or two. He seems friendly enough." She sighed loudly. "Though if he dresses for this like he does normally, I might come and hide behind you."

Pyrrha giggled. "Well, feel free if you need me. I can be a useful shield. Honestly, I'm kind of surprised you're going alone. I really thought you and Jaune would go together."

"Me and him?" Blake asked, offended.

"I'm right here you know," he drawled, still reading fairy tales – this time about wizards. "And sheesh, Ren thinks I'm going with Ciel and you think I'm going with Blake. Am I the protagonist of some kind of harem story here?"

"W-Well, the two of you _do_ spend a lot of time together."

"Oh no, we spend time together." Blake gasped theatrically. "It must be love. Our names come next to one another in the team; we're destined to be together. We're partners. That means we have to marry one another."

Pyrrha burst out laughing. "S-Sorry," she gasped, not sounding very sorry at all. "It just felt like it might work. Plus, you argued a lot before. And yes, I realise how stupid that sounds. You can argue with someone without being in love with them."

"For someone so interested in our non-existent love-life, you're fairly spartan in your own," Blake said. "Go date someone."

"I'm going to the dance with Ren."

"That's not dating, and you know it."

"It's still more than you right now," Pyrrha pointed out.

Blake gaped.

"Ooh, burn," Jaune cackled.

Pyrrha laughed and made her excuses, asking them to let Ren know she was going to meet with Nora and Ruby, and that she'd see him outside the entrance to the hall when he was ready. The moment she was gone, Blake shook her head.

"I never expected something like that from Pyrrha."

"I guess the dance is making everyone a little light-hearted."

"Except for you. You look nervous." Blake put her book away. "Is that because of what needs to be done, or because you have a date with a girl?"

"Would you believe me if I said both."

"I would. You seem like the kind of guy to get worked up over spending a night with a girl, even if it's as friends." She tilted her head and shot him an inquisitive look. "Are you actually interested in her? Romantically, I mean."

"I don't know. I know I like spending time with her, but that's more because of what she is. Ruby reminds me of why I wanted to become a huntsman – to do good and help people with no strings attached. Not… what I'm currently doing." He sighed. "Does that sound stupid?"

"Not to me. I spent years filled with regret over the White Fang's actions, and Beacon was supposed to be my chance to hide all of that away and pretend I was something else. It's not so different to what you're doing here."

He hadn't thought about it like that, but she had a point.

"What time are we making our move?" she asked.

"Last hour of the night. I need to find a way to ditch Ruby without it being seen as that, and I figure spending most of the night with her will be the best way. Once the dancing is over we'll be chatting with people normally. I can slip off then."

"I'll be close behind. We're going to have to fight to make it convincing."

"Avoid the face. I need to appear back in my suit."

Blake snorted. "I'll be gentle."

/-/

Ruby fidgeted as Yang helped to organise her hair into something a little less wild. Her sister had fussed all over her dress, then her shoes, then her appearance – until Ruby felt more groomed than she ever had before, and paradoxically all the less confident for it. She'd just about managed to convince herself this was a friend's night out and not a date, but all of Yang's pampering was making it feel really date-like.

Which it was, to be fair.

No, no, no. Don't think it!

"I can't dance," she blurted, suddenly afraid.

Yang paused. "Huh?"

"I can't dance, Yang. What do I do!?"

"Wow, way to wait until the last hour before you bring that one up." Yang laughed and straightened some of her dark locks. "Don't sweat it. I'll bet you five out of ten people here can't dance, and four of those who claim they can are wrong."

"What if he thinks I'm an idiot?"

"Because you can't dance? Ruby, this is Beacon. You can kick Grimm ass and wield a giant scythe. I doubt anyone expects you to be Queen of the Dance Floor on top of that. You've got the last-minute jitters, I take it."

"I changed my mind. I can't do this!"

"Yep. Definitely got them."

"Tell him I'm sick! Tell him I died!"

Yang laughed, the traitor, and didn't go to do either of those things. She stroked the back of Ruby's hair instead, putting it into position, and then patted it flat. "Everyone panics in a situation like this, Ruby. It's normal. Just remember that this doesn't have to _mean_ anything if you don't want it to. You asked him to go with you, as friends, and that's what you're doing. Still, with how nervous you're getting, you sure you don't like him something more?"

"I… I don't know. I like being around him. He always listens to what I say, and I can tell he likes talking to me." She just couldn't tell if she liked that back as a friend or if she _liked_ it. It could be both, right? It could be either.

"Then that's what tonight is about. Go have fun. See if you like the more romantic stuff like dancing and holding onto one another, or if the two of you just find a corner to stand in and chat about stuff like normal. It's not like either of you are hurting anyone else by doing this. Neither of you have heartbroken suitors watching on in angst."

"Well, there _is_ Blake," Ruby whispered.

"She doesn't like him like that, trust me. Your big sister can tell with these things."

There was a knock on the door. Ruby's stomach dropped to her ankles and started to writhe in misery there. She was doomed. It was over. She was going to die. Yang was opening the door. Why was she opening the door and not helping her beloved sister hide?

"Yo. Hm, not bad, lover boy." Yang leaned on the doorjamb, preventing Ruby from seeing anything, or from the person outside seeing in. "You're here for Ruby, right?"

"Yeah," he replied. "Is she in?"

Yang looked back.

Ruby shook her head wildly.

"Yep! Come on in."

Damn it, Yang!

"Hey, Ruby." Jaune strolled into their room with a wide smile on his face. His eyes landed on her and she shuffled awkwardly, feeling several sizes too small for the red dress Yang had forced her into. "Wow, you look amazing."

Her face heated up. He looked good too in his black suit. She wished she could say it, but her tongue was currently too big for her mouth. "H-Hey," she managed.

"You ready for the dance?"

No…

"Yeah."

"She's a little nervous," Yang explained, betraying her _yet again_. "It's her first time on this kind of thing. Go easy on her."

"Uh, it's my first time too."

Yang nodded imperiously and turned to Ruby with a smirk. "It's his first time, sis. Go easy on him."

"Ugh, Yang…" Ruby rolled her eyes and grabbed Jaune's arm, dragging him outside. Even if she was nervous it'd be better to not put up with her sister's constant teasing. Once they were alone, however, things only felt worse. She poked her fingers together, struggling to stay upright on her elongated heels. "So… this is a little weird."

"Being with me?" he guessed.

"Not that. Just… all of this." She looked down at herself. "I'm not used to dressing up. I prefer being in combat boots. And… and a skirt!"

"Me, too. Except for the skirt. I hate skirts."

She snickered. "Anything I should know?"

His cheeks darkened – and Ruby's eyes grew ever wider, as did her smile. "It wasn't me," he protested. "Look, I have seven sisters, five of which are older than me. Things happen. They happen especially often when your mom and dad leave your big sisters to babysit you as a child."

"They dressed you in girl's clothing!?"

"No comment."

Ruby burst out laughing. "I want to see pictures."

"Never!"

"Come on…"

"No way." He pushed her away when she tried to cling to his arm. "I'm not letting you see them, Ruby. Hell, I hardly keep them on me. My sisters have them."

"Can I have your sisters' numbers?"

"I can't hear you," he yelled. "La, la, la."

Ruby giggled, and at the same time felt the fear she'd held before slowly dissipate. He wasn't acting like she was expected to do anything, and he wasn't pushing her into anything either. Maybe this whole `date` thing wouldn't be so bad after all.

/-/

It was bad.

It was very bad.

"You can't dance?"

Ruby's eyes darted left and right, not meeting his. "I-Is that bad?"

"Well, no… but… I can't help but think you should have said this _before_ you suggested we go dance and dragged me onto the dance floor."

Yeah, on hindsight that sounded like a good idea, but you know what they said about hindsight. They'd only been at the dance for an hour or so, but that had been enough time for everyone to arrive and for Yang to start with the innuendoes. She wasn't sure whether her sister thought she was innocent or just stupid, because she knew _exactly_ what each of those things she'd said meant, and her face had been fit to explode.

Getting lost in the crowd had seemed a good idea, and no one could argue with her dragging her date off for a dance, right?

Well, no one apart from her feet. She tripped over Jaune's instead.

"You're tripping me," she whined.

"You went right," he said.

"Was I not supposed to?"

"Not yet. Step left." The instruction came suddenly, and although she tried – and they went in the same direction this time – she still clicked her heels against his foot and would have fallen if not for his arms catching her. "You okay?" he asked.

"I think I broke my self-esteem…"

"Don't be like that," he laughed. "So, you've never danced before?"

"Is that odd? I mean, how many fifteen-year olds _can_ dance at ballrooms? How can you dance?" Her eyes closed, and she cut him off before he could answer. "Let me guess, your sisters."

"My mom, actually. But close."

Ruby tried to keep up with him again. He didn't move particularly fast and she had the feeling he was trying to stay slow for her, but it didn't seem to help. Sometimes she took a step too far, hitting his feet. Sometimes she didn't go far enough, and his would sweep across, basically cutting her legs out from under her.

Honestly, she was lucky she didn't weigh much, since if she'd been as tall as Yang or Blake she'd have dragged them both to the ground ages ago.

"You need to move to the music," he explained.

"I know! But what does that even mean? It's bad advice." She pouted at him. "Move to the music is like telling someone to relax at the dentist. It doesn't work! Music doesn't come with an instruction manual. Damn it, Jaune!"

Jaune stared at her, open mouthed.

Ruby flushed. "Um, that is… eheh…"

"This is really bothering you, huh?"

"You mean looking like an idiot in front of everyone? No. Why would it?" She didn't normally do sarcasm, but she felt this warranted it. It wasn't so much that she knew the people around her, because honestly, she barely knew anyone other than their two teams. Social awkwardness and all that. "It's because everyone expects me to fail," she admitted.

"What do you mean? Yang and the others would never think that…"

"Not them. Everyone else here." She kept her voice low, eyes to the ground. "I'm the fifteen-year old in Beacon. I'm a child where everyone else sees themselves as adults. It's annoying. They look at me stumbling around on the dance floor like an idiot and they're laughing at the little girl trying to be a huntress."

It wasn't quite that bad, at least not literally. Yang called it jealousy, with most people feeling threatened by the idea of someone two years younger than them being stronger. With that in mind, they liked to remind themselves that wasn't the case by seeing her struggle. At least with Weiss and Yang around to watch her back, not to mention Nora, no one wanted to bully her in a more obvious manner. The threat of broken legs had that effect.

"I just want to prove I deserve to be here," she said.

"You do. You beat me in spars all the time."

Ruby smiled. That was just like Jaune, and part of the reason why she liked him so much. The idea of being beaten by a fifteen-year old wasn't even an issue to him. He was just happy to spar with a friend, win or lose. "Thanks…"

"People are stupid," he growled. "You should just ignore them."

"Yeah, Yang says the same."

"But it's hard, right?"

"Hm." Ruby nodded. Most of the time it didn't bother her, but right here, right now, looking like an idiot, their amusement felt all the more obvious. She sighed and stepped back. "We should go get some drinks. Putting up with Yang is better than this. At least she just embarrasses me by because she cares. It's better than this." She moved away but Jaune's hand caught her wrist.

"Or we could prove them all wrong."

"Huh?" Ruby's eyes widened as he dragged her back in. She yelped, colliding with his chest. Her hands pressed flat against him, one on each side of his heart. "J-Jaune. What? I can't dance. I told you that. Heck, I showed you!"

"Then you'll just need to learn," he said calmly, as if he hadn't just had his feet stomped into oblivious ten seconds earlier. Darn his stupidly big aura. "We'll go simple, so you can get used to it. Everyone has to start somewhere."

She bit her lip. "I don't know…"

"Trust me," he whispered. His smile was honest, his cologne dizzying. His face was a lot closer than it had been before. "When have I led you wrong, Ruby? I'm not going to do something that'll embarrass you. Just trust me."

He'd been nothing but a friend to her. She felt herself nodding before she could think to do otherwise.

"Okay. Keep your head down," he instructed. "I've got your shoulders, so leave guiding you to me. I want you to watch my feet and get an idea for how _far_ I go with a single step. Move yours to match, and just focus on that for now. Once you have the idea of how big a _step_ is, we can move on." He gently brought his arms around her, holding her in place. "You ready?"

Ruby nodded. It was weird looking down while they danced, but she trusted him and did as he said.

"We'll just do four steps for now and repeat. I'll take one step to the left, one back – that's _forward_ for you – and then I'll do one to the right and one forward, back for you. So, you go left, forward, right and back."

"Left, forward, right, back." She repeated the instructions and nodded. That didn't sound too hard and they'd end up where they started.

"I'm starting now. Just relax and get an idea for how far we move on each step."

He took the first step and she stumbled to follow. She tried to move both feet but that proved a mistake. Luckily, he caught her again, and didn't stop as he took a step back, drawing her with him. It was hard to fight the instinctive urge to look up in panic, but she focused on his feet instead, watching as each step was only done with one foot, the other _sliding_ after it only once the first had finished its move.

When he stepped forward, pushing her back, he left with his right, and then turned her body gently in the opposite direction, only then moving with the other so that they stood still again.

"And it repeats," he said, moving into it again. She was drawn left, forward, right, and then back. "Just concentrate on those four steps for now," he whispered. "Don't think about the music, or me, or anyone else. This is just a move you need to learn with four steps. If it helps, think of me as Crescent Rose."

It didn't help, but she appreciated the effort and laughed at the image of herself swinging a scythe around the dance floor. That would be _one way_ of getting rid of all those people who laughed at her, though not exactly a way her Dad would have approved of. Qrow would laugh, though, especially if she panicked everyone so much they fled in screams.

"Good," Jaune said.

"Eh?"

"You moved with me," he explained. "That was really good!"

She had? What? Ruby shook her head and stumbled again, him catching her. She looked down. She still _felt_ stiff on her feet, but she realised that when Jaune took a step to his right, she could follow, leading with one foot while still keeping it _within_ his. When his other moved, she slid before it, coming to a stop one step to the side and _without_ hitting him.

"And now one forward," he whispered. He took a step back with his right foot, and this time she followed it with her left – measuring the pace so that their knees didn't collide. She was doing it. "That's it," he said, equally excited. "Now follow."

She did. When his other foot moved, so too did hers, balancing perfectly as they came to a rest a step back. He didn't warn her on the next, but she was ready it. As one, they stepped to the right, and when Jaune moved forward, she hovered back. That was the hardest part, since she couldn't see behind her. She placed her trust in him, though, believing that he'd warn her if someone was there or she was about to trip.

They completed the full four steps.

"And repeat," he said again.

Ruby nodded and did so, flowing with him – and for once it actually _felt_ like they flowed, as opposed to her playing catch-up with his feet. When she stepped forward, he stepped back, and neither moved any closer to the other, moving in synchronisation.

"Now let's try a twirl," he whispered. "We'll do all four steps, then I'll spin you, and then we'll repeat the four. Don't pirouette. We'll _both_ turn together. Like a three-hundred and sixty degrees turn, okay?"

"Yeah. I think I've got it."

They moved some more, and after the first step Jaune slowly drew her to her right, turning them both around a central point. It was a little more complicated, but she had some budding confidence now and managed it without any real trouble, grinning like a loon once they'd completed the turn.

"There. That's all there is to it." Jaune smiled down at her. "Some dances are longer, of course. More steps. But we can just do this for now. Try it with your eyes on me instead of the floor. If you hit my feet, just ignore it and recover. Don't let yourself get frustrated. Dancing is supposed to be fun."

She nodded and fixed her eyes on his. His smile made it easier, mostly because it was so excited – so happy. It was happy _for her_ , too, which made it all the more special. He was thrilled she was learning, that she was improving. He was genuinely proud of her.

No difficult or crazy feelings involved. Ruby giggled and smiled back, feeling equally giddy. "Let's do this," she said. "Let's prove them wrong."

A new song started. Ruby ignored it, instead focusing on Jaune as they moved. It was the same motions, the same manoeuvre, and even though she didn't have her eyes on her feet she was still able to maintain it, judging the distance more from muscle memory and how far his body moved. Footwork was used in fighting, after all. She just had to imagine she was keeping equal distance with an opponent, except that it was a distance much smaller than what she normally liked to keep.

They completed their routine, spinning at the last. Ruby's eyes sparkled as her skirt flew a little, trailing around her legs as they spun. No one else was doing anything like that. She caught someone watching, caught them look away, annoyed.

"Faster," she begged.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I've got it now."

And she had. He picked up the pace, drawing her closer, and she kept it with ease. Left, forward, right, back and turn. At one point Jaune surprised her, whispering that they should take three steps back, but she had the motion now and did it easily – watching over his shoulder as another couple danced too close. They would have collided with them had they stood still, but Ruby instead got a front-row seat to watch them trip over their own feet and fall instead.

She pressed her face into Jaune's chest to hide her smile – and maybe her laughter, too. His body was warm and hard, which she found she liked. The smell of his cologne had started to fade as well, mixing with sweat from the dancing, and she was forced to admit that it wasn't a bad smell either.

"Thanks for this," she whispered.

"For teaching you how to dance?" he asked, sweeping her to the side. She kept pace and turned with him, impressing some people around them.

"Not just for that. For believing I _could_ dance. For even trying in the first place. You never treat me like I'm a child. You never look at me like I'm useless."

Jaune laughed.

"I-I'm serious," she growled, poking his chest.

"I know, it's just… don't you see you do the same for me?"

"Eh?"

"I'm the weakest of our friends by a huge margin," he said. "I'm in the same catch-up history lessons with you, _despite_ not having the excuse of being two years younger and missing all those classes. I wield a sword I can barely use, and it's obvious I'm not cut out to be a huntsman."

"Jaune, no," she argued. "Don't say things like that."

"But you never act like any of that matters," he interrupted, smiling down on her. "None of that means a thing to you. You're just Ruby, and you treat me like I'm just Jaune. You believe that I _could_ be a huntsman. You never treat me like I'm an untrained idiot." His eyes danced, amused at the concept of her own words being turned against her. "You never look at me like I'm useless."

She didn't say a word. She buried her face in his chest and felt a smile tug at her lips. He swept her into another dance and she didn't argue. She didn't trip either, nor did she falter. Maybe what they had wasn't as one-dimensional as she'd thought. Maybe it wasn't just her taking from him and giving nothing in return.

Maybe they were more similar than she'd realised.

"Thank you," she whispered. "For helping me."

"What are friends for? And thank _you_ , Ruby. For helping me."

She giggled.

"What are friends for?"

/-/

Jaune glanced back to the hall, music and lights pouring through the windows, and counted his seconds. The sooner this was over the sooner he could get back to Ruby, preferably with no one being the wiser. He'd chosen a spot where she needed the bathroom to slip away – the excuse would be that he'd needed it too, and that they'd failed to find one another afterwards, getting lost in the crowd for however long this took.

Not too long, hopefully. The night had already been better than even he'd expected, and he wanted to get back to it. There was plenty of time to dance some more with Ruby, and he didn't want her to think for a second that he'd ditched her.

"Better get to work, then."

The CCT was an obvious sight, even at night time, but it wasn't his first destination. Keeping low, he hurried over to the thick bushes of the main garden and crouched down by a tree, wiping some leaves away with one hand. There, before his eyes, a small brown package was revealed.

"Thank you, Ciel," he whispered, clicking it open. She'd been as good as her word – providing a stash of some small trinkets that would help him out. Namely, a black overcoat he could throw over his suit, closing at the front, and a balaclava to pull over his head. There wasn't the time to dye his hair black, not if he wanted to dye it back blonde and jump back into the dance.

He couldn't go in a VSS uniform either, which meant this would have to do. The material was clinging and hot, but he could see through the eyeholes easily enough. He tugged on some black gloves to eradicate fingerprints, and finally drew out the scroll with the virus Cinder had given him.

"In and out. No need for fuss. Blake should have noticed me by now." He paused to look back to the dance but shook his head. She wouldn't be that obvious and he couldn't exactly _wait_ for her here. "Focus. I can do this."

The two guards at the CCT weren't paying much attention. Both were from Atlas, making it odd they were guarding the place, but the two were clearly distracted by the loud music and bright lights from the dance. It masked the rustle of bushes as he approached, crouched and low to the ground. Even with the element of surprise, two guards were two too many – and a single moment for them to radio for help might stack it even more in their favour.

The CCT might have some access hatch he could use, but he'd promised Blake an obvious sign. How else was she supposed to make an excuse for knowing someone had infiltrated the place?

His fingers toyed with a small, metal globe in his coat pocket. He thumbed the side, feeling it click, and then slowly drew it. It clicked a second time, telling him it was armed. With a gentle toss he let it roll onto the concrete between the two men.

"What the-?"

The sphere popped four of its sides out with a quick hiss – expelling a large cloud of purple-tinted gas. The two men gasped, and one reached for his helmet.

Jaune caught the hand before it could reach. He buried his knee into the guard's gut, bending him double. He pushed him down, vaulted over his back, and slammed a foot into the other's knee, bringing him low. His hands settled on the man's helmet, on either side, and he drove a knee once, twice, into his face.

It wasn't enough to knock them out. They were well-trained and armoured. But the exchange had taken no more than seven seconds, and he'd held his breath the entire time. The two guards, on the other hand, had their breath expelled from them by his attack. The first one gasped and fell, the gas taking hold and robbing him of consciousness. The second struggled in Jaune's grip but groaned when his knee caught the man's visor and chin once more. He breathed in, and quickly slumped.

Lucky, given that the breeze quickly drew the gas away, not only removing the evidence but also allowing Jaune to breathe once more. It also meant he wouldn't need to worry about either getting an overdose from it, but they were each out for at least an hour or two.

"Atlas really do have the best gadgets," he said, gently lowering the guard down. Ciel was lucky she had stuff like this, and he supposed _he_ was lucky she was willing to let him have some. There wasn't much he could do for the guard's split lip or cracked visor, but he tried not to jostle either of them too much. He dragged one into the bushes and placed him as carefully as he could there, and did the same with the other, making sure to leave a foot sticking out as instructed.

The chances of someone seeing that were low, especially in the dark. But since Blake was a faunus, and they had to assume Ozpin knew that, then it wouldn't be suspicious that she could.

Either way, he dashed inside, slipping through the CCT's doors and hurrying to the main elevator in the central shaft. It was already at the bottom, saving him time. He pushed the button for the top floor and waited impatiently as it ascended. He hadn't been gone too long yet. Maybe four, five, minutes tops. The hall was a busy place and filled with people. You could get lost looking for someone for ten minutes or so, but any longer made him look stupid for not going to where he would _know_ their friends were.

"Ten minutes." He reached down to his watch and set a timer for five, assuming five had already passed. "It should be enough. Get in. Place the Virus. Wait for Blake. Fight. Flee. Get changed and meet back with Ruby."

When he laid it out like that it really did feel like a lot to accomplish in five minutes.

The elevator dinged. He stepped out, then – on a whim – reached in and pushed the button for the ground floor again. It would shave off a good forty seconds or so if the elevator was already waiting for Blake.

Terminal screens and computers faced him from every direction. Beyond those, the large windows that made up the exterior wall of the tower control room. In the daytime it would be bustling. Not so now. There _were_ cameras, however, which meant he needed to play this as bluntly as he could. Cinder said the main console. He walked up to it, sitting centre stage on the back wall with six or seven different screens attached to it. It wasn't used for long-distance calls, but rather worked as some kind of server or hub. The exact specifics of which he didn't know.

 _There's a cartridge on the bottom of the device, though._ He looked over the terminal until he found a similarly-shaped slot. Behind, he heard a whirr as the elevator started to move. Good. She was right on time.

"Screw it. Let's try it in here."

The scroll fit easily, sliding into the recess and then clicking into place. There was nothing for a second, and it occurred to him that he had _no idea_ how to tell if it was working or not. That concern was soon taken away, though. All the screens flickered on – revealing a crimson background with a black chess piece emblazoned in the centre. He doubted it was a screensaver.

 _Virus placed, and guards dealt with. Now, all that's left…_

The elevator dinged, and the door slid open.

"It's too late to stop me," he called, more for the camera's benefit than Blake's.

"What… Who are you? What did you just do!?"

Jaune's eyes widened. He turned, mouth dry. The balaclava hid his expression from view, but had it not been there the person before him would have been subject to a wide-eyed, open-mouthed stare. It wasn't Blake who had followed him.

It was Ruby.

And she was armed.

* * *

 **Uh-oh. Well, I guess it's time to see how our spy shapes up to a proper huntress, or one in training anyway. He's not had to fight many serious battles against combatants like her. And Blake, please. You had one job! I obviously offer disclaimers on dancing. My ability to dance is very limited, so take all of this with a grain of salt. I actually wish canon had done more with Ruby and Jaune's friendship, since it looks early on like it might be a thing, and then it gets marginalised in favour of building this odd "training" dynamic with Pyrrha. Which is fine and all, but there still could have been some Ruby and Jaune moments between that.**

 **I'm not saying romance and pairing, per se. Just the two helping one another. I really liked their initial dynamic as socially awkward girl and clumsy useless guy, and hoped to see them support one another through Beacon. Sadly, Ruby just sort of forgot she was socially awkward and it never came up again, and Pyrrha stepped in to have Jaune rely on her, leaving Ruby out of the equation for the most part.**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 11** **th** **March**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	32. Chapter 32

**Here we go, here we go, here we go.**

* * *

 **Cover Art:** Kegi Springfield

 **Chapter 32**

* * *

One job. Blake had _one_ job. This was what he got for trusting people. Jaune, or John – currently masked in a long overcoat and a balaclava – backed slowly away from the smaller, younger and far more dangerous girl. She was in between him and the elevator, the only escape from the CCT. Not for the first time, his dinky knife felt somewhat lacklustre compared to her gigantic sniper-scythe.

"I asked you a question," Ruby yelled, twirling it before her. "Who are you? What did you do?"

Ciel had to have left him something to deal with this. He rummaged through his pockets looking for it. Or Blake could come, except no, that would be a disaster. If she arrived, then she'd have to fight alongside Ruby or give away her cover. The whole thing would become even worse.

"Answer me!" Ruby demanded.

"I don't have to answer to you," he replied, modulating his voice so that it was a little deeper, a little angrier. He turned and nodded to the terminal he'd just infected. The screens were still red and black. "Though if you're quick you might be able to reverse what I did. Feel free to try."

"And let you escape? I'm not an idiot."

No, she wasn't. More's the pity. She didn't have to stop him or beat him – even though she could. All Ruby had to do was hold him in the tower until help arrived, in her mind in the form of Ozpin or Miss Goodwitch, but more realistically in the form of Blake. Either would be bad at this point and if the teachers got hold of him it was all over.

He had to escape.

He had to fight Ruby.

And, if needs be, he had to beat her down.

 _I'm sorry, Ruby. I'll make this up to you, I promise._

He covered the distance between them quickly, drawing his knife and lunging for her. Despite the shock of his sudden attack Ruby was ready. The girl took a single step back and drew her scythe down, using its reach to fend him away and slash towards his arm.

Her eyes widened when Jaune made no attempt to block it. The blade struck his arm and shoulder, staggering him but bouncing off his aura and doing nothing to stop his charge. The girl yelped and tried to dodge back, suddenly aware that her defence had failed. Sadly, her heels didn't make that an easy task. His shoulder caught her midriff, lifting her up and carrying her a good few feet away from the elevator door.

The two of them crashed through a computer terminal, his vision obscured by Ruby's body and her not in control of her own momentum. The sound was deafening and set off an alarm instantly. While she was stunned he pulled back, gripped her arm and tugged her around his own body, using himself as a pendulum to haul her up and over another desk. Ruby groaned as she slumped over it, landing hard on the other side.

Jaune was already halfway to the elevator. If he could just reach it, then he could escape – trapping Ruby up top. He was almost at the door when a loud crack behind him sounded, followed by a sudden agony that seared through his left leg. Electricity raced up him and he screamed briefly, muscles locking as he fell to the ground. A blur of red darted past, flying over him to the elevator door. Ruby stepped in, hammered the button, and then slipped out as the doors closed, the elevator carriage descending without her.

"Nope," she said, eyes narrowed. "You're not escaping this time. I know who you are now. You're John White."

"And you're Ruby Rose," he replied, staggering to his feet. "Roman sends his regards."

"You're still working for him? What does he want here?"

"Wouldn't you like to know." He would too, honestly, but Cinder hadn't revealed anything. Either way, time wasn't on his side now. Jaune readied his knife before him, one hand flat on the back of the pommel as Oobleck had taught him, the other gripping it horizontally before him. He stepped slowly to the left, Ruby mirroring him as they sized one another up.

He'd seen Ruby fight in several spars and mostly knew her style. She was faster than him and had a longer reach, not to mention more versatility and a Semblance that accentuated her fighting style perfectly. She had the advantage at short, medium, and long range – though not extreme melee, the place where even a punch would be considered too long-reach. It was a place of elbows, knees and knives, and a place Oobleck had told him would be his own.

The problem was getting there. Ruby had been caught off-guard by his near-suicidal charge and now knew his aura was big enough to ward off stray attacks. She wouldn't fall for the same trick twice. In the whole fight the only advantage he had was that she didn't know how he fought. Well, that and her heels. He glanced down and sighed. Never mind. She'd taken her shoes off and was now barefoot.

Ruby didn't push him as he looked her up and down. She knew she didn't have to, what with time being on her side. Not for the first time he wished he had his VSS uniform. That would have come with several tricks to help him out. He'd have to make do with what he had.

His knife flashed up and above, striking down toward her shoulder. Ruby brought the haft of Crescent Rose up to block it, also catching his wrist on the metal and making it sting. The knife fell, released at the last second however, and he caught it with his other hand, thrusting it up into her stomach. Silver eyes widened – before the seemed to fade away, blurring past in him in an explosion of rose petals. The knife cut through nothingness and he found himself facing an empty room.

The blade of her scythe sliced down his back a moment later. His aura held but that didn't stop the pain. He cried out and dove forward instinctively, rolling out of reach. Of the blade, anyway. The tell-tale sound of metal clanking and shifting told him what was coming before the angry bark of dust and fire did. He was already rolling to the side, behind some computers and terminals and out of sight. He pressed his back low against one and took a second to catch his breath. He winced when a bullet tore through the computer above him.

Okay, so Ruby hadn't entirely been forthcoming with _all_ the abilities of her Semblance, it seemed. That was fun, though to be fair he _had_ wondered what rose petals had to do with speed in the past, so maybe this just explained it. Either way, they'd gone for a few exchanges and she'd gotten the best of him in every single one. Fighting her head on obviously wasn't an option, if it ever had been.

He eyed the elevator again, but the carriage was down on the bottom floor. He'd need to call it and hold her off long enough for it to arrive. Even that assumed he could turn his back on her and get inside when it did, or that she wouldn't get in there with him and making things even worse.

The shooting stopped. Crescent Rose shifted back into scythe form. She'd obviously decided not to waste more ammo when she couldn't see him, and he heard her bare feet tap quietly against the metal floor as she moved forward cautiously. The glass and detritus on the floor probably wouldn't even bother her so long as she thought to send aura down to her feet. He noticed her shoes nearby, discarded when she'd been knocked over the terminals. He reached over to grab one and lobbed it up into the air above and behind him.

It was scythed in two in an instant. Crescent Rose flashed through the air after the attack, and Ruby landed on the desk above him, confused to find herself connecting with footwear instead of a person.

"Huh?"

Jaune's hand shot up, catching her ankle in a steel grip. With all his strength, he tugged down.

"Whoah!"

There was a flash of leg and something more as he _hauled_ her down off the table, forcing her body to slam onto the ground in front of him. He ignored it and clambered on top of her, pushing her hands down before she could bring Crescent Rose back. Fast, skilled and dangerous she might have been, but heavier and stronger she wasn't. He placed a knee in the middle of her back and leaned down above her head, gripping her wrist in both hands and crushing the bones together. She held on but was eventually forced to release her weapon with a cry of pain. Even then she managed to drive an elbow back into his face, nearly knocking him off entirely.

He took the chance of her doing it again to catch and twist her arm behind her back, using his other to grab her weapon and toss it far, far away. He'd found his opening, his advantage, and in the end it came down to grappling.

"You won't get away with this," she howled. "Even if you kill me more people will stop you. My sister will. Jaune will!"

He didn't respond. There had to be something he could use to tie her up. He eyed some cables from a nearby computer and ripped them out with one hand. While he had no idea how tough they actually were or whether they'd hold up, he only needed a minute or two. He pulled her other hand back and started to bind her wrists together, fighting against her constant struggling.

"Stop moving," he growled, voice gruff again. "I'm not going to kill you."

"Like I'd stop!" she screamed, kicking wildly.

He'd gotten a few loops around her wrists when the elevator dinged. Both of them froze and looked towards it. The door slid open, and Blake stalked out, looking more annoyed than concerned. That did a one-eighty once she saw the situation, of course.

"Blake!" Ruby gasped. "Help me!"

The moment seemed to happen in slow motion. Ruby's head was pointed toward Blake in a desperate plea for help, while Blake's eyes were on his – wide and panicked. He stared back flatly, knowing what was about to happen even before it did. As Blake drew Gambol Shroud and aimed it at him, he replied to her apologetic gaze with a roll of the eyes.

One job, Blake. You had one job.

The rounds took him in the chest and knocked him back. He had the presence of mind to pull Ruby's bindings tight before he jumped off and behind some cover, leaving her to struggle with the half-tied power cables. The gunfire stopped, and Blake charged forward, pausing by Ruby for a second, maybe to give him a chance to escape.

"Forget me," Ruby called, as helpful as ever. "Get him!"

Blake hesitated but couldn't really refuse unless she wanted to give herself away. She nodded and moved on, vaulting over some broken terminals and engaging him. He brought his knife up in time to parry but she planted a foot in his chest and kicked him back. On the second clash she locked blades with his and leaned forward.

"What are you doing?"

"Me?" he hissed back. "What are _you_ doing? Where were you?"

"Sun followed me around like a lovesick puppy. I had to get rid of him." She twisted her cleaver to the side to dislodge his knife. She took a swung at his head, but it was lazy, giving him a chance to duck. She planted both hands on his shoulders and tackled him back, further away from the struggling girl they'd left behind. "What are we going to do?" she asked. "I can't just let you escape."

"Then let me win. Ruby's busy as it is. Let me knock you aside and get out of here."

To her credit it didn't take her long to think about it and agree. For the benefit of the cameras she drove a knee into his side, stunning him for a second. "Make it look good," she whispered, gripping his arm and feigning an attempt to break it. He managed to twist out of it easily. "I'll hold my aura back, so it looks convincing, but if it's not a good hit people will get suspicious. I'll pretend to be knocked out and wake up when more help arrives."

"Sure thing. Tell me when."

"Catch my arm and spin me. Hit me from behind." Blake hopped back and lunged again, this time slashing in from the side. The meaning of her words became apparent with how extended she was. He caught her arm and twisted it up, slipping under and around so that he was facing her back.

Blake nodded, lowering her aura so that he could score a hit that would convince anyone watching. She'd fake the rest as best she could, and that would be his chance for freedom. Ruby was already up, however, free of her bindings and hunting her scythe. He'd never make it to the elevator even _if_ Blake faked being knocked out.

It was with that in mind that he made his decision. "I'm sorry about this, by the way."

"Wh-" His partner's words cut off with a slur as he _slammed_ the handle of his knife into the side of her head, directly in her right temple. Her eyes widened. Her mouth formed a tiny O, and she toppled back like a felled tree.

In his defence she'd asked him to make it convincing.

Ruby found her scythe and turned, brandishing it towards him. She froze a second later, eyes wide and arms slack.

Jaune nodded, one arm around Blake's body, under her breasts, and being used to hold her in a remotely standing position. The other held a knife to her throat as he backed away, dragging her unconscious form with him. "Don't move or I'll slit her throat."

"I'm not moving," Ruby glowered.

"Drop the weapon." She did so, placing it down softly and then holding her hands up, palms facing him. He breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. Now, I'm going to be making my way toward the elevator and out. I'll leave your friend here at the bottom and you can collect her when it comes back up. No one has to die here."

"How can I trust you to let her go?"

"You can't," Jaune replied, recalling Roman's words. "But you can trust me not to make life harder for myself. If I leave her injured in the elevator, you'll need to get her help. If I kill her, you'll hunt me into the Emerald Forest and I'll have all of Beacon trying to kill me."

Ruby sensed the truth in his words, or Roman's logic, and nodded.

Good. If there was one thing he could count on it was Ruby not wanting to get anyone hurt, especially not someone she knew. The girl's silver eyes watched him like a hawk's, but she made no move to pick up her weapon and never would. Even so, he made sure to skirt around the edge of the terminal with Blake's limp form, rather than take the direct route and pass close to her. He was almost to the elevator when the door slid shut with a hiss.

"What did you do?" he growled to Ruby, but she stared back with wide eyes.

"I-I didn't do anything. You saw me!"

She hadn't, but the only way the doors would close was… no. He checked the dial above, and sure enough the carriage was descending. There was someone at the bottom that had called it, and with the alarm still going there wasn't much question as to who that might be. The teachers were en route. They would be coming up in less than a minute.

No time to think. Jaune backed away, using Blake as a human shield. His hand rummaged at her hip, searching for her weapon. She'd dropped it, though. He moved further back, keeping Ruby away. Gambol Shroud felt heavy and unfamiliar in his hand. The mechanisms were too much for him, the whole thing a complicated mix of gun, sword, and ribbon. But the gun part? That he could use. He aimed it towards the windows and shot them out in six rapid bursts. Wind whistled through, brushing shards of glass out and kicking up loose pieces of paper around the CCT.

"Wait, you can't!" Ruby yelled.

"Stop or she goes with me," he snarled, hauling Blake back. It was a lie, of course. A bad one. If he sent her out she'd die, unable to activate her aura before she hit the ground. Ruby didn't know that, however. She bit her lip and watched as he approached the ledge.

The elevator dinged as it reached the top, and slowly began to open. He caught sight of green and white, of people he couldn't hope to face. Panic mounting, the last hope of it being someone else gone, he placed a foot in the back of Blake's spine and kicked her towards Ruby. While the girl rushed to catch her friend, Jaune turned and dove through what remained of the glass, out into the night sky. He heard General Ironwood shout out a command for him to freeze as he did. Yeah right, as if.

Wind whistled past his face and obscured his vision. He saw the ground approach, the trees before that, and gritted his teeth. As landing strategies went he didn't have one. Aura could reduce damage, but you still needed some means of lessening the impact. Beacon's initiation could kill someone who wasn't prepared for it and even without the Grimm below he was still approaching terminal velocity.

With no other options available he took hold of Gambol Shroud and clicked on every button, latch, and doo-hickey he could find. The gun part opened. The magazine was expelled. The grip twisted – for gods knew what reason – but finally the sword and gun parts separated, connected by a black ribbon. It looked flimsy and weak. He had to assume it wasn't, since he'd seen Blake carry her own weight on it while swinging around.

As he approached the ground he took a part of it in each hand, and, in a desperate manoeuvre, _hurled_ the blade towards a fast-approaching tree. The blade bit deep and held. He sailed past it but held onto the ribbon, riding it as the fabric ran taut and, to his relief, didn't snap. His momentum shifted, turning from a straight line to a spiral. He was thrown around the anchor and swirled into the foliage, branches and boughs cracking against his body.

He wasn't Blake. He couldn't make the landing smooth. He crashed through the boughs of another tree and released the weapon, leaving it to spin on as he crashed through the tree and fell to the ground, his momentum sufficiently slowed that the landing didn't kill him. His reward was agony. He slumped and lay on his back, gasping for breath.

Shouting from up above reminded him he didn't have that luxury. Neither Ozpin nor Ironwood would be as lacking in a means to land safely. Jaune pushed himself up and staggered in the direction of the nearest border of Beacon and the Emerald Forest, the cliffs. When he arrived, he tore off his balaclava and coat and threw them over, letting them drift down below. If someone found them they'd assume he'd ditched them to move quicker. Maybe they'd think a Grimm got him but that was unlikely. Not enough blood.

In his suit again, and thankful for the fact Oobleck had assured him all cameras watching the area outside would have mysteriously faltered, Jaune limped his way back towards the sounds of music and dancing. It was so loud that the populace of Beacon hadn't even heard the alarm from the CCT. He pushed in and through the crowds there, slipping inside and hiding the pain and fatigue he felt.

Mission accomplished.

Sort of…

/-/

"We can still catch him," General Ironwood growled, moving towards the window. His progress was halted as a cane appeared in front of him, Ozpin holding it sideward. "You want to let him go?" he hissed. "I've not questioned you before, old friend. I do now."

"We have other matters to attend to, James," Ozpin said, ever the reasonable one. "My students, for one. This attack for the other. I doubt you'll find him. The Emerald Forest is too large."

Ironwood was forced to reluctantly agree and crossed his arms over his chest as Ozpin moved towards the young huntress standing a little to the side, watching them awkwardly. She was barefoot and scuffed, her dress practically ruined from the melee. Her expression spoke of awkwardness and a general sense of panic at having been caught red-handed, even if it obviously hadn't been _her_ responsible for all of this.

"Miss Rose," Ozpin said, nodding. "It's good to see you in one piece. I take it you noticed our little intruder here."

"I saw the guards unconscious outside," she said. "Sir, it was John White."

"You're sure?"

"It fits what we've seen," a new voice said. Doctor Oobleck stepped out of the elevator, having ridden it up with the two of them. "The man has been making a name for himself in criminal circles and has been seen working with both Roman Torchwick _and_ that mysterious woman who stole the General's Paladin." Oobleck nodded in his direction, and Ironwood huffed.

"We'll find them soon enough, believe me."

"I should certainly hope so, General. They've attacked Beacon now. I shudder to imagine what their goals are." The green-haired man hummed as he caught sight of something to the side. "Oh my, is that Miss Belladonna?"

"Blake!" Ruby gasped. "S-She saved me. She must have seen the guards as well and come up. White had me down and was tying me up, but she shot him off me and went after him." She bit her lip. "He was able to defeat her and take her hostage."

"He was, hm?" Oobleck knelt by the girl and shook her shoulder. She didn't awake, and Ironwood moved over, concerned.

"Is she well, Doctor?"

"Alive, but – ah." The man brushed some hair from her face, revealing an ugly bruise to the side of her head.

"Unconscious," Ironwood said. "Quite the nasty blow, too. He must have gotten the drop on her. He's more skilled than our records suggest. Poor girl."

"Will she be okay?" Ruby asked, panic clear in her voice.

"She will be fine, my dear," Oobleck said. "Though I wager she will wake with quite the headache. Perhaps she should be taken to the infirmary to recover. She may well feel sick in the morning after this, and there is the possibility of a concussion."

"I'll take her," the student offered.

"Really, Miss Rose. I'm sure I can-"

"She saved my life, sir. Please let me take her." Ruby begged. It looked like the doctor might argue for a moment, but for Ozpin interrupting.

"Let Miss Rose take her, Bart. She can then return to the dance. There's no reason for her night to be cut short dealing with this."

"I agree," Ironwood said, though perhaps not for the same reasons. "This is a matter best handled by adults. You've done well," he added, nodding to the girl. "Leave the rest to us, now."

"Yes, sirs. Thank you." She hurried over to her companion and dragged her up, positioning the taller girl so that she was slumped over one shoulder. Even so, she was strong enough to carry her to the elevator and down. Once they were alone, Ironwood spoke again.

"This attack is yet another sign of how lax your security is, Ozpin."

"Do we have to do this now?" the headmaster replied.

"Why not? You never listen to words, so perhaps actions will speak louder. An intruder, under your very nose and doing goodness knows what to the CCT. This isn't a toy, Ozpin. It's a device integral to maintaining diplomatic channels between the Kingdoms."

"I am well aware of the CCT's importance, James. If I recall, it was _your_ guards at the entrance who were knocked out."

That was true, but far from being cowed, Ironwood only smiled more. "Yes, and there would have been _no_ guards here were it not for my – what did you call it? – _constant paranoia_. If it wasn't for me, John White would have been able to do whatever he wanted to this place and we would have never known."

Ozpin didn't appreciate the rebuke, even if he hid it well. His old friend never did like to be questioned, and Ironwood often wondered just how little Ozpin trusted the opinions of anyone other than his own. He was reliable for the most part, but there were times when Ozpin was so stubborn as to become irksome. The issue of security was one of them.

And one would really think since Ozpin _knew_ who the enemy was, that he'd be a little more into protecting his school and students. It wasn't just lax when he _knew_ whomever attacked Amber would come again. It was foolishness to the point of it being intentional.

He'd have said that if it weren't for the other teacher in the tower. Bartholomew Oobleck's record was clean, but that meant little. The man had met them near the entrance, having been notified of the alarm as they all had.

"It seems the perpetrator used Miss Belladonna's weapon to escape," he, Oobleck, said. "I shall have to see if we can't reclaim that, or the young lady will be quite annoyed. It looks like whatever he was here for, Miss Rose wasn't quite fast enough to interrupt."

"But they did a number on the terminals," Ironwood pointed out, nodding to the devastation. "That's going to make identifying just _what_ he did a nightmare." He sighed and drew out his scroll. "I'll have some of my technicians look over the software and make sure nothing has happened to it." He paused and glanced at Ozpin. "With your permission, of course."

The headmaster waved a hand. "Go ahead."

While Ironwood made the call the other two continued to look around the CCT terminal, Ozpin turning off the alarm that was still ringing and Doctor Oobleck inspecting some of the damage and sifting through it. It was when the call ended that a development was made, although Ironwood was surprised to see it from the hyperactive teacher.

"I think I've found something! General, you mentioned your engineers, no? Do you believe they would be capable of breaking into a scroll?"

"Of course," James said, striding forwards. "I can have that done before morning. Don't tell me you've found one?"

"On the floor," the doctor said, holding it out for the General to take. "It was near where Miss Belladonna fell, though I don't recognise it as being one from Beacon. She must have snatched it from him as she fell, or perhaps he dropped it in the ensuing melee."

"Or it could be a spare of hers," Ozpin pointed out.

"In which case we will know when my men break into it," Ironwood said, already looking at it. "And if it is, I shall apologise for the intrusion into her privacy and return it. Good work, doctor. Hopefully this will have something useful on it."

"I'm simply doing what I can to help," Oobleck demurred.

"Thank you, Bartholomew," Ozpin said. "I think it might be best if you headed back to the dance now. It wouldn't do for the students to worry."

The man nodded, catching the order and leaving. Ironwood waited for him to go and sighed. "You're losing your subtlety there, my friend. You couldn't have made that any more obvious if you tried. Is there something wrong with the man?"

"Not at all. I simply wanted us to be able to speak a little more freely." Ozpin nodded to the scroll. "Can you break into it?"

"I should think so but depending on what we find I'm not sure what can be done. My men won't be here until the festival and Vale has no standing army. Unless your _agent_ is nearby…?"

"Qrow is busy, I'm afraid. I have him looking into something."

Ironwood didn't bother to enquire what. "In that case our options are limited."

"Perhaps not as much as you might think, my friend. It will all depend on what we find in there." Ozpin sighed. "Still, this is troublesome. If our new enemies were looking for Amber I wouldn't expect them to go to such lengths. Stealing a Paladin and allying with Torchwick and the White Fang doesn't appear conductive to breaking into Beacon."

"Especially not with how lacking your security is," Ironwood prodded. "Why, they could just walk in the front door."

Ozpin frowned, not quite as amused and perhaps a little irritated. "If my attention seems lacking, old friend, then rest assured it is because I'm focusing on aspects I consider more important. If someone attempted to approach Amber, they would be in for quite the surprise. I simply don't have the resources to guard her, the students, the CCT and Vale all at the same time."

"You could leave some of that to me."

"No. I've told you before that your men intimidate the people. Your presence always feels like an invasion, particularly when you bring those robots and your giant battleships."

"Ozpin, a little intimidation is a small price to pay to avert a disaster. You know this."

"My decision stands," Ozpin said, and Ironwood sighed again, this time in frustration. It was always the same with Ozpin.

"As you will. I just hope your decision won't come back to bite us all."

/-/

Jaune didn't see the hand which caught him by the collar. Not until he'd been dragged towards a face. He cringed, expecting violence, but cracked an eye open when it didn't come. Yang stared back at him, vaguely offended, vaguely amused.

"I'm not going to hit you…"

"Sorry. Instinct."

"Sheesh, talk about jumpy." She laughed and shook her head. "I'm looking for Ruby," she said. "I figured you'd know, or you ought to," she added, smile fading into a frown. "You didn't ditch my sister on her first ever date, did you?"

Even with the adrenaline from the prior fight running through him, he managed to feel the appropriate fear. "No, no, no. I'm looking for her too. She went to the bathroom and I couldn't find her when I came out."

"Hmm…" Yang's eyes narrowed. "You sure?"

"Why would I lie!?"

"Well, you look out of breath – and a little tired. You weren't _doing anything_ to, or with, my sister, were you?"

It took him a second to realise what she was insinuating – and several for him to work past the heat that suffused his face. He tried to put some words together and form a sentence but only managed a single word. "YANG!"

"Alright, alright. Sheesh, if even the thought of that has you looking like this then I doubt you'd have tried it. Where is that sister of mine? Sheesh, Rubes. You're not supposed to ditch your date like this. Where did I go wrong?"

He didn't get a chance to answer, or to make an excuse. Yang grabbed him by the arm and dragged him along with a quick mention of how if she was looking, so was he. He knew full well it would be a thankless task, especially if Ruby was still with the headmaster, but there was no way he could tell Yang that.

"What you look so shifty for, anyway?" Yang laughed, continuing on before he could make to answer. "You're skulking around like a rat. You didn't do anything untoward with my sister, did you? Didn't do anything to hurt her feelings?"

"N-No." Just, you know, tackled her to the floor and tried to tie her up. Also tried to stab her a little. Honestly, it had been more a case of _him_ being knocked around than her. "I've just been looking for her."

"Good. Stop looking so nervous, then. People are staring."

They were, though he'd have said it was more for Yang gripping onto him than anything else. Still, he took her words to heart and tried to remain calm. It was hard. At any moment he expected Ozpin to crash in and demand he be arrested, or for Ruby to have recognised him. _No, that's impossible. I fought with a weapon different to my sword, I had a mask, and my hair was covered. The only thing she could have noticed the same would be my shoes._

It was put to the test after fifteen minutes of fruitless searching. Nora shouted out over the music that she'd found Ruby, and Jaune was dragged in that direction by an eager Yang. What they discovered was enough to have Yang's mouth falling open, though not his. He tried to mimic it, though.

"Ruby! What the hell happened to you?"

"Heh heh…" The younger girl scratched the back of her head and looked away. Her dress was in a state, her hair was frazzled, and she was covered in a faint sheen of sweat. All thanks to him. "It's complicated?"

Yang crossed her arms. "Uncomplicate it. I had to rent those shoes for you and I need to give them back to the shop. Where are they?"

Ruby's expression, if possible, became even more nervous. "The answer to that is even more complicated…"

"Ruby…"

"Yang…" she mimicked, and then swiftly looked for a distraction. "Jaune! Where were you? I couldn't find you?"

All attention switched to him, as was her plan. He shuffled, eyes on Ruby, waiting for her to shout out that it was him, or to gasp, or to point accusingly. She did none of those things. If anything, she just looked nervous. That gave him some small confidence.

"I was looking for you," he said. "Where were you?"

"Eh... ah… well… I saw this guy…"

"Ruby," Yang gasped. "You didn't?"

"Didn't what? He was unconscious. I tried to help him."

"Someone passed out from the punch here?" Yang snatched Weiss' glass and sniffed it. "Wow. Impressive. Their liver must be made of paper."

"Not from the drink – from John White. I was fighting hi-" Ruby tried to stop herself, she really did. Her hands slapped over her mouth, but it was too late. Yang's trap was perfectly laid and she'd walked right into it. "Um…"

"John White?" Yang asked.

"The wanted criminal?" Weiss added, equally unimpressed.

"Fighting?" Nora finished, arms crossed, eyes narrowed. "Without me!?"

"Heh… I told you guys it was complicated." Ruby sent him a pleading look, mouthing for him to help her. She looked so cornered that he couldn't help but give in and would have done so even if it wasn't what he wanted anyway.

"Come on guys, Ruby has obviously had a rough night as it is." He moved over to stand next to her, against the crowd. "How about I take her back to her dorm and we call it a night? The night is wrapping up anyway and Ruby can't dance without any shoes."

"I like this plan!" Ruby cheered.

"You would," Yang drawled. "Sheesh, whatever. I guess we'll get this out of you tomorrow. Take her back, lover boy – but I warn you, no funny business. I'll be there in half an hour and if there's any sign of you – or evidence you've been _in_ our room, _or_ in my sister – you'll taste my fist."

"YANG!" Ruby howled. "Stop. Just… go away, please."

He nodded along, cheeks bright red. He'd only thought of this as a chance to escape before any suspicion fell on him but now that Yang had put it in those terms… oh god… no, no, no. It was time for the brain bleach.

"Come on, Ruby," he groaned, tugged her along by her hand while Yang was distracted, being berated by Weiss. "Let's get out of here while we have the chance."

/-/

In the end, Ruby rode him back to her room – though not in the way Yang would have suggested. She lay against his back with her bare feet and legs under his arms, poking forward while her arms wrapped around his neck from behind. Her chin leaned on the back of his neck, her breath brushing against his skin.

"Are you sure I'm not too heavy?"

"I'm not sure how you can ask that with a straight face."

"Hey." She swatted the back of his head. "I'm still a girl, you know. I can be insecure about my weight if I want to be." She giggled and leaned forward, arms draping down to his chest. "Thanks for carrying me back."

"You look exhausted," he said, feeling more than a little responsible for that. "This is the least I can do, and you don't want to step on something sharp."

"Hmm…"

"Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah." She nodded, but then hesitated. "I just… I'm a little disappointed."

"In what?"

"That the night got interrupted. I had… fun, I guess. It was nice. I learned to dance, and I didn't suck at it, and everything was going well, but then it ended in a really stupid way." Her tone, bitter and disappointed, had him swallowing.

It was all his fault, after all.

"I'm sorry."

"No, it's not you. I had fun. I guess I'm just annoyed. A part of me wishes I didn't see that unconscious person, but then I think what might have happened if I wasn't there. I had to do something."

"I know. It's the kind of person you are."

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"You're the kind of person who can't ignore someone in trouble," he explained. "Or the kind of person who wouldn't. They were in danger. You had to try and help them. You're brave and courageous like that."

Although he couldn't see her face, he could feel the way she pressed her nose and forehead into his neck, and the heat that radiated through him. She was warmer than usual. "Y-Yeah?"

"Yeah. That's why it doesn't surprise me. And… it's not your fault. I don't blame you."

Not even for kicking his ass left, right and centre up there – or forcing him to make an impromptu leap out the window. It was just the kind of person she was. And, in a way, that was disheartening. She was a huntress, a hero. He was a spy, a shadow. Could they really exist in the same kind of place _without_ coming into conflict?

Tonight was a fair example. Their first date together and it had been fun when it was just the two of them, but suddenly a fight for survival when their professional sides had met. That was hardly a good foundation for a friendship, let alone something more.

Luckily their arrival at Ruby's form helped put an end to such gloomy thoughts. "Here we are. You ready to come down?"

"Yep." Ruby held onto his neck as he leaned forward, and then shifted off his back and onto her bare feet. "Thanks again for the ride."

"No problem."

"So…"

"Yeah…"

Ruby hid both hands behind her back and rocked on the balls of her feet. "I -uh- I guess… isn't there something you're supposed to… well, I mean… if you don't want to."

It took him a second to realise what she meant. His mouth ran dry. "Ah. Y-Yeah. That. I… well, I mean it's not like I don't want to. I do."

"You do?" she asked, cheeks pink.

"No," he denied. "Ah, yes? Maybe?" Her embarrassment fed into his and he wanted to slap himself in the face. He knew what he was doing here. Ruby was practically giving him the answer. He swallowed and took a step forward, his stomach tensing when she didn't back away. She looked down at his chest instead, and it occurred to him just then how much of a difference in height there was between them.

This was going to require some planning. Damn it. Why couldn't it have been easy? Shouldn't they just fit or something?

"Shall I…?" she pushed on tip toes for a second.

"It's fine," he said. "I've uh… I've got it." He placed his hands on her shoulders.

Their eyes met.

His stomach did a nine-hundred-degree spin. He drew a deep breath and was about to let it go. _Wait, what if my breath smells!?_ He panicked and held it in, and then immediately choked a second later.

"J-Jaune!?"

"I'm fine," he gasped, bent double. "I'm… I'm okay."

No more. He steeled himself and leaned down, eyes closed. Ruby met him half-way, reaching up before he'd even realised it. Their foreheads cracked, their noses hit one another – and there might have been the _briefest_ touch of lips against one another before they both pulled back. He winced and opened one eye in time to see Ruby's bright red face.

"G-Goodnight," she yelped, before she rushed inside and slammed the door.

His first kiss was a brief brush of lips because he'd screwed it up and gotten a case of the nerves. The near-capture fight hadn't helped but come on. Damn it! "Shit!" he growled, slamming a fist into the wall. "You can't even kiss a girl right, you absolute moron!"

The door opened. Ruby was there, blushing even more. It was obvious she'd heard his words from the way she wouldn't meet his eyes. Stood with his fist against the wall and his eyes wide open, he could only stare as she giggled nervously.

"Uh, I forgot to tell you that Blake was injured – but she'll be alright." Ruby shifted. "Um, I'll leave you to your… uh… yeah. Goodnight!"

The door slammed shut again.

He'd humiliated himself too. Perfect. Oh, and Blake was in the infirmary – because of him. Because he'd knocked her out and taken her hostage. And he'd lost her weapon. Left it stuck in some tree somewhere. He tried to imagine what her response to all of _that_ would be.

He punched the wall again.

Damn it all…

* * *

 **Eh, a little bit of a reverse on what I'm sure people expected there. Yep, they shared a kiss, but no, it wasn't your suave spy kiss from James Bond, I'm afraid. The two nerds nearly conked one another out and basically faffed it up. Good going. Oh yeah, and Blake is going to be** _ **thrilled**_ **when she wakes up, I'm sure.**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 18** **th** **March**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	33. Chapter 33

**Goodness, the site farted its insides out last night and that was delightful. Luckily it worked by this morning, but it's still a shame because some of this was uploaded onto the site, and I was going to make amends to it, but because it was on the site and I couldn't access it, I wasn't able to work on it yesterday as intended.**

 **What you see here is rather rushed in terms of it all being written today. Well, hopefully it's not too problematic. This is luckily after the fight of last chapter, so it's not an action scene-filled chapter.**

* * *

 **Cover Art:** Kegi Springfield

 **Chapter 33**

* * *

"Oof!"

Jaune winced as his backside hit the grass, which wasn't quite so soft and comforting when you fell from a good height. There were leaves in his hair, too, not to mention several branches that clung to his sleeves. His shirt was stained green with smudges from leaf and grass. With aches and pains, both from the night before and now, he wanted nothing more than to lay in the grass and fall asleep in the morning sun.

Of course, someone wouldn't allow him.

"You're not just going to sit there, are you?" Blake asked, arms crossed, eyes narrowed. One of her feet tapped on the grass impatiently.

"I-I'm just catching my breath."

"Uh-huh? And what about catching my weapon?" Her eyes narrowed. "Up. You don't get any rest until Gambol Shroud is back in my possession."

With a groan he stood back up and staggered towards a new tree. The last few had been a bust, though to be fair he couldn't really remember which he'd lost it in. His attention had been more focused on survival than anything else. "I feel like you're taking this very personally," he said.

"Do you, Jaune? Do you? How strange."

"And I know I _maybe_ deserve it…"

"Maybe?" she asked, voice filled with sarcasm. "You knocked me out!"

"But you _did_ kind of ask for it."

It was the wrong thing to say but he'd already scurried up a tree before she could answer, putting himself out of her reach. Blake could probably have scaled after him and kicked his ass for that but then she'd have to find her weapon alone, and she wasn't about to do that when she had a perfectly obedient slave to do it for her.

She huffed instead and closed her eyes in irritation. "I don't recall asking you to knock me out, nor to use me as a hostage – and certainly not for you to steal and lose my weapon!"

"You told me to make it convincing," he called from the tree. "This is convincing."

"Convincing! Not _actual_! You're lucky I don't have any brain damage." Blake sighed. "Whatever, it hardly matters now. I'd have been there sooner if it wasn't for Sun. I swear, I gave him any number of dances, but it just made him more eager. I told him I was going to the bathroom and he _followed_."

Jaune poked his head out of the leaves, vaguely impressed and also disturbed. "Into the bathroom?"

"He stood outside," Blake admitted grudgingly, "saying something about how he'd wait for me. Still, he was impossible to lose. In the end I had to explicitly tell him I'd had enough of dancing and wanted to spend a little time with my team." She sighed. "He looked hurt."

"Can you blame him? He got ditched by his date."

"Well he wouldn't have if he'd been a little less clingy. I'd have come back and spent more time with him after helping you. Forget about it," she said, shaking her head. "I'll set him straight later. He wasn't that bad to spent time with, just frustratingly focused on making everything perfect - or at least impressing me. He could have done to be a little more natural. That's for another time, though. Right now, I need you to find my weapon before someone else does and loses it somewhere." Her eyes narrowed. "Are you _sure_ you didn't throw it into the forest?"

"I'm sure. It broke my fall in the gardens and I let go before I hit the ground." Jaune pushed around the tree he was balanced in and caught sight of an unusual shade of black in a neighbouring one. "Wait, I think I see it!"

"Hop to it, then."

Blake could be a real slave driver when she was in a bad mood, it seemed. Today's was probably the worst he'd ever seen her, though to be fair she probably hadn't expected to end her prom night in a hospital bed, let alone put there after being told a fairly harmless criminal – at least as Blake knew him as – had managed to best her and take her hostage. No one had teased her for it, most being filled with sympathy, but it was those looks which really annoyed her. It had really set her off when Ruby came up and apologised for not being able to protect her.

A fifteen-year-old telling the seventeen-year-old it was her fault she hadn't been stronger. Blake's ego hadn't been able to accept that, apparently. And, since she couldn't tell anyone the truth, there had been only one place for that anger to go.

"I'm working, I'm working," he said, landing on the grass and practically sprinting past her, feeling her eyes burn into his back the entire time. He scrabbled up the new tree before she could give him a lift via the use of her foot.

"If the ribbon is tangled you're dealing with it!" she called.

It wasn't tangled, luckily. Gambol Shroud's blade had dug into the bark and wedged there, while the gun attachment itself dangled over some branches, having wound itself up in the boughs after he let go. It took a few minutes to carefully get the ribbon off the branches, but it was all in one piece. He dangled the blade down so she could take it, and then fed the ribbon and the gun as she drew it in and stored it once more.

It clicked together audibly once she was done; his cue to leap down and stand opposite her smiling once more. "There. All done."

"Where's the magazine?"

His face fell. "That… may have fallen…"

Her eyes narrowed into slits.

"I'll buy you some more," he promised. He had the funds from the VSS, not to mention his wages. "I'll even buy you some dust rounds – the real fancy ones."

"Hm." It looked like she wanted to say no, just to make him work even more. In the end the promise of premium dust, which had only become more expensive thanks to Torchwick, won her over. "I want at least six clips," she said, "and an oiling kit. I'm going to be working the grime out of this for the next few hours."

"I could help…"

"I think my weapon has had enough of your _help_ ," she sniped. "As has my skull."

"How is it?"

Blake's eyes narrowed to slits.

"Wrong question?"

"It's sore," she growled. "I have a welt the size of an egg on the side of my head and I can feel it every time one of my ears moves. I got knocked out. How do you think I feel? How would _you_ feel?"

"In pain," he admitted. "Not angry."

"Then you underestimate my capacity for anger. You're paying for my dress, by the way."

"What!?"

"It was a rental – and it's torn in multiple places, not to mention you half-dragged me along the floor. I'm not taking that back to the place I got it from. I can almost imagine the looks on their faces." That would be an awkward conversation. "I'll contact them and ask them for the bill. You'll cover it."

He sighed. "Yes, Blake."

"Don't `yes, Blake` me, mister. I didn't nearly break my partner's skull, so I could go make out with someone."

"We didn't make out!" Jaune yelped, flushing a bright red.

"Ruby's reaction when asked this morning suggests otherwise."

Ugh, that was something he hadn't needed. Their kiss, if one could even call it that, ranked about as close to making out as it did an assassination, but when Yang had teasingly asked whether they'd had any debauched fun last night – and Ruby had gone bright red and started to stammer – the whole table had been thrown into chaos.

In the end they _had_ to admit they'd kissed, if only because Yang's mind had jumped to something far worse and she'd been about to kill him.

Of course, Blake finding out he'd been doing _that_ while she'd been unconscious in a hospital bad had only made her glares all the sharper. Knocking her out to save the kingdom was acceptable; doing so to play kissy-face with Ruby was very much not.

"At least your cover is clear," he said. "Oobleck definitely doesn't suspect you, and neither do Ozpin or Ironwood from what Ruby said. You might have been in more trouble if you _had_ pretended to be unconscious. They might have known."

"Except that I'd have woken up when they arrived."

"Uh…"

"Forget it." She growled and flicked a hand through her hair. "What's done is done and I'll forgive you once I have what you promised me and once this headache goes away-"

"A headache? Didn't the doctor say to go back if you felt anything?"

"I'm not going back to that... that excuse for a doctor. Never again." She crossed her arms and shivered. "It's just a headache. Tell anyone and they'll never find your body."

"R-Right," Jaune laughed, not quite able to see if Blake was joking or not. He'd heard things about Tsune, of course. Who hadn't? Even Oobleck liked to avoid her where possible. "I guess I have some painkillers in my gear. You can have those."

"What's our next step, then? Do you need to report this failure to that woman?"

Jaune nodded. Cinder would need to be told but he wasn't sure if he should do so by scroll or in person. He wasn't even sure if he should be the one to tell her, or whether he should report to Roman first. "I'm going to meet with Oobleck soon to find out."

"Tell me what's decided afterwards?" Blake requested.

"I will."

/-/

"You called for us, headmaster?"

"I did," Ozpin said, nodding to Oobleck and Port. "Please sit. I take it you're both aware of what happened last night. Bart was there, but I understand Glynda and Peter stayed behind to watch over the students."

"Someone had to," Peter said, laughing. "There's no telling what kinds of madness the students can get up to unsupervised."

"Quite so," Oobleck agreed. "Is this about the scroll I found on the night, headmaster? Has General Ironwood been able to break into it?"

"He has."

Peter and Glynda leaned forward eagerly, while Oobleck hid his own smile in taking a sip of coffee. That was good. He'd already broken it himself of course, but the beauty of Jaune's little debacle in the tower was that he had a more organic way to pass the information on, seeing as it was the same scroll Jaune had managed to lift from one of Roman's men.

Now, how Ozpin reacted to it might also be a tell of his motivations. Would he tell the truth of what was in the scroll, or would they be told something different here?

"It seems that the attack on the CCT was something of a diversion, or a part of a larger plan. There isn't much on the scroll to work with, but some recent communique between the perpetrator, who we believe to be John White, and Roman Torchwick was discovered."

"Did it explain what they wanted the CCT for?" Glynda asked.

"I'm afraid not. The information relates to a different activity of theirs, but one we need to investigate as soon as possible. It seems Torchwick is taking some time out of Vale with his allies in the White Fang."

"They're hitting another Kingdom?" Peter guessed.

"Not quite. It seems they are up to something in Mountain Glenn."

"Mountain Glenn?" Glynda asked, surprised. "What could they want there? It's a ruin."

"Perhaps they've made a base of operations there," Peter suggested. "Although, then again, would that be a bad thing? The Grimm and the White Fang could keep one another busy."

"It's a bad thing because Mountain Glenn is connected to Vale," Oobleck explained, earning a nod from Ozpin. "Whatever the White Fang have planned, Mountain Glenn would be a perfect staging point for them to influence our own city. That is why you have called us to this emergency meeting, is that not right, Ozpin?"

"It is, Bart. General Ironwood and I are concerned about the White Fang's motives, unknown as they may be. Their recent attack on the CCT shows their plans involve Vale, so we can't afford to take things easy with them acting so brazenly nearby."

"Can't James deal with it?" Glynda asked. "If it's out of the city I don't think anyone would mind him bringing his military to full effect."

"James' men aren't sufficient for the task. He only has a small guard here, and no battleships. Torchwick alone would be enough to harm them, let alone the Grimm that have overtaken the ruins of Mountain Glenn. But then again, you don't often move with full force against an unaware enemy. Not without doing a little scouting first…"

Oobleck knew what he meant immediately, even if he was a little bemused by the suggestion. "You mean to send students to Mountain Glenn?"

Ozpin nodded.

Glynda, predictably, was not a fan of the idea. "Ozpin, you can't! You'd be throwing students into a hornet's nest. This is Torchwick we're talking about, not to mention the White Fang! They're _killers_."

"And are Grimm not?"

"Of course, but this is different, and you well know it!" Glynda's eyes flashed dangerously. "Killing Grimm in self-defence is one thing, but you would put unprepared students into a situation where they might be expected to kill living, breathing people. That's asking too much of them."

"I have to agree, old friend," Peter Port said, his moustache twitching. "We have many brave huntsmen and huntresses here, but they are still just children. Adults quail under the possibility of taking a life even after military training. This is a rather ill-thought plan of yours."

Ozpin took the criticism in hand, accepting it with a nod, but didn't change his mind. His eyes looked to Oobleck, the only one who hadn't immediately spoken out. "And what say you, Bart?"

"It's dangerous," the spy replied. It was as irregular as Peter had suggested and he was pleased to see the two in agreement on it. Still, whatever Roman and the White Fang had planned would be a threat to the entire Kingdom. Sacrifices were often necessary.

Even if the thought of that disgusted him.

"I would volunteer for the mission," he said. "Whomsoever you decide to send, I believe I should lead."

Glynda rounded on him. "You agree with Ozpin!?"

"I'm neither agreeing nor disagreeing, merely offering my services should it go ahead." His expression calm and measured, he stared at the headmaster. "It would be foolish in the extreme to send a team _without_ the protection of a member of staff."

"I know. I intended to send someone with them, perhaps Port – or even another I had in mind. Sadly, he hasn't arrived in Vale yet."

Qrow Branwen, no doubt. The VSS knew of the huntsman and his odd allegiance with Ozpin. It was a matter of some suspicion even before the man's ability to traverse great distances in unrealistic times. So, he was coming to Vale, was he?

Interesting. Oobleck wondered what it was Ozpin had espied on the horizon. Whatever it was, the man was pooling his allies. First Ironwood, now Qrow. Something big was coming. Even so, it would be for the best if he was sent to Mountain Glenn, and with a team he could trust.

"I believe I would be better suited for the mission, headmaster. No offence to my colleague here, but I have some understanding of Mountain Glenn and its layout."

"History is different to reality, Bart."

"I was there when it fell."

Silence. Ozpin retracted his comment so quickly he staggered, while Glynda's gaze, so sharp, turned sympathetic and soft. Even Peter swallowed and looked away, unwilling to delve into the depths of what the survivors of that terrible time felt.

"I didn't realise," Ozpin whispered. "I apologise."

"I do not talk much of it, headmaster. Few of us do." He less than any other. "But I know Mountain Glenn and, if needs be, I know the tunnels that connect it to Vale. There is no other in Beacon better suited to lead a team there."

"Perhaps you are correct. Very well, I shall leave it to you. Will you need my assistance in securing a team?"

"It won't be necessary. I already have a team in mind."

/-/

"You gave the scroll I found to Ironwood!?"

"Once I had the necessary information off it, yes. Don't worry. We didn't lose anything."

He might not have but Jaune was still a little nervous. Roman must have given it to him with the knowledge it would be taken, but he wasn't sure if that had extended beyond Oobleck. Either way there wasn't much he could do about it now. He looked to Ciel, who had also been summoned to the meeting, and shrugged.

Ciel echoed it back. Apparently, she was as in the dark on the purpose of the meeting as he was.

"Rat completed his mission last night," Oobleck said, "though not without some complications. Regardless, the objective was secured, and you escaped with your cover intact. Well done, Rat."

"Thank you, Director."

"How is your partner today?" Oobleck asked.

"Grouchy and upset. She had a headache earlier but wouldn't go and see the doctor about it." Blake wouldn't appreciate the tattletale, but honesty felt like the best policy, especially when Oobleck could tell if he was lying or not. Keeping his words utterly truthful was the best policy. "I helped her find her weapon this morning, since I – or, well, John White – left it in a tree."

"Was that wise?" Ciel wondered. "It's as good as returning to the scene of the crime."

"I didn't go anywhere near the tower itself and _someone_ had to help her. Besides, the moment I touched it I left my fingerprints all over it, meaning that even if the teachers asked to see it they'd dismiss my prints as bring from when I helped her find it."

"Contaminating the evidence before it can be considered such," Oobleck said, chuckling. "Well done. Even so, you wore gloves I recall, so there wouldn't have been much risk. Your partner doesn't suspect you as being John White, then?"

A difficult question, especially to answer. Jaune shrugged. "She'd be pretty angry at me knocking her out if she did."

Oobleck, detecting no lie, nodded. "I imagine so. Good."

"What was in the scroll from Torchwick?" Ciel asked. "I think we have a right to know, sir." She looked to him for support and Jaune nodded, standing firm against the Director. There was no need for him to tell us but presenting a united front at least made it more likely he would, if only to prevent us acting out.

"I intend to tell you both, calm down. I was able to crack into the scroll yesterday before the dance, but I wasn't sure how to pass the information along to Ironwood and Ozpin without appearing suspicious."

"Was that why you wanted me to fail at sneaking into the CCT?"

"No. That was still to prevent any suspicion from your employers. I only decided to use it as an opportunity to conceal the scroll afterwards. Worry not; I made sure to wipe it clean of anything that might incriminate you, prints and DNA included." Oobleck moved over to his desk and motioned for the two of them to follow. The professor sat behind it and brought up his terminal, flashing through several screens until the logo of the VSS could be seen.

Before their eyes, he then brought up a map of the city of Vale, before he zoomed out a little further and pointed to a blip off to the side.

"Is that a mountain?" Jaune asked.

"It is _the_ mountain, Mr Arc. One well known as both a place of hope and of tragedy."

Ciel figured it out first. "Mountain Glenn."

Jaune's breath caught. He glanced to Oobleck as subtly as he could but there was no real emotion to make out there. Seriousness, perhaps, but no guilt, pain or anything else. Did that mean there wasn't any, or simply that Oobleck didn't feel it? Any sacrifice for the betterment of Vale, right? That's what Roman had said.

"Indeed. This is Mountain Glenn," Oobleck said. "It turns out that our friends in the White Fang have been active in the area, though in what way we can't be sure. The communique Rat managed to steal from Torchwick included instructions from the thief himself, instructing someone named `Rufus` to look after affairs in his organisation while he travels to Mountain Glenn to oversee the `stupid animals` working there."

"That sounds like Roman," Jaune said. "He hates the faunus – or just has no faith in them. It's hard to tell which."

"One in Roman's position doesn't get so far by associating oneself with idiots. It's just as likely he despises anyone who lets him down as he does those in possession of additional body parts. I'm sure if a particularly skilled faunus came along, he would have little issue working with them."

Jaune wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. On the one-part Roman wasn't racist – that was nice. On the other, he'd probably shack up with the leaders of the White Fang if needs be, and that wasn't a very appealing prospect.

And then, of course, there was the fact that Roman willingly gave them this information. What did he have in mind? Was this a trap? If so, it seemed a ridiculously convoluted way of going about it. He might as well have killed John then and there and saved himself the trouble.

"We're going to do something about Mountain Glenn, aren't we?" Jaune asked. "We need to stop whatever it is they're doing there. Are you sending the two of us there?"

"In a manner of speaking."

Jaune and Ciel shared a confused look. "Meaning…?"

"For one, you shall not be going along. I will accompany you."

"You will?" Ciel asked. "I, well, it will be an honour, sir. Still, is the mission so dangerous as to require someone of your calibre?"

"Yeah, you're the Director of Operations," Jaune said, "Aren't you needed in Vale?"

"I won't be coming as a Director of the VSS, I'm afraid – and that is where things become a little more complicated. The three of us won't be going alone. This is a team mission given by Beacon and it will take place while all the team missions are being orchestrated."

Jaune's stomach fell out. "You mean…"

"I'm afraid so. We shall have to conduct our operations while also looking after Team ABRN."

"Sir, this is a grave risk," Ciel said.

"I'm aware, Agent. The other members of the faculty are not particularly excited about it either, but I was able to convince them Team ABRN were the best for the job. You currently consist of five members for one, but you also have Miss Nikos, who is a known quantity."

"And the headmaster was okay with us going?" Jaune asked.

"Yes, although, now that you mention it, he did suggest that I consider Team RWYN, instead."

"Ruby's team…"

"Indeed. Any idea why he might suggest that, Rat?" He hummed when Jaune shook his head. "I see. I agree with your thoughts that Miss Rose seems innocent of any grander motive, but I think this shows she isn't unrelated to one. Whether she knows it or not Ozpin has something in mind for the girl. I doubt it would be Miss Schnee or Valkyrie who he is interested in, and between the Miss Rose and her sister, Ruby was accepted two years before schedule, and in suspicious circumstances."

Jaune's blood boiled, though for once not toward the Director. Fairy tales, relics, and something that involved Ruby. Those were the only things he had to go on at the moment, but considering his friend was being lumped into this now, he had a strong motivation to find out more.

One thing was for sure; Ozpin couldn't be trusted.

"You convinced him to go with our team instead, though? Or is this a joint mission?"

"Only Team ABRN, thankfully. It would be too much a task to keep so many ignorant of our true motives."

"And what _are_ our true motives?" Ciel asked. "What are we to do there?"

"The task Ozpin has assigned us is to locate Torchwick and the White Fang and reconnoitre their operations to find their objectives. If possible, we are to interfere, but only so far as limited risk falls on the students. That is our official mission."

"And unofficially?" Jaune asked.

"The opportunity presented is too valuable to miss out on, and we have our suspects in Cinder Fall. Our true task is, for the most part, the same as what the headmaster has assigned us – but for one small difference."

Oobleck's eyes sharpened and he linked his hands together on the desk, covering his face.

"Kill Roman Torchwick."

/-/

Blake, as might have been expected, wasn't pleased with the news. She looked around wildly once he'd told her, just to make sure no one was listening in. When the coast was clear she pulled him close and slipped into a quiet corner so they could talk. "Oobleck is taking us out to Mountain Glenn alone!?" she hissed. "And to _kill_ Torchwick!?"

"Trust me, I'm not thrilled about it either. I don't want the team being dragged into this."

"We'd have been thrown against criminals in time regardless, but that's not the main problem. We're trusting our lives to Oobleck out in a dangerous location where _no one_ will find us if something goes wrong. Who's to say he won't kill me?"

"What? Blake, that's ridiculous." He laughed, but it dwindled off when she didn't respond. Her eyes were downcast, and her teeth gnawed on her bottom lip. He paused. "You're really worried about this, aren't you?"

"Shouldn't I be? He's in charge of Vale's Secret Service; I'm a terrorist."

"An ex-terrorist."

"Will that matter to him?" she asked.

He didn't know. Or maybe he just didn't want to admit it. No, to Oobleck it probably wouldn't matter – especially if he ever found out that she knew about him and the VSS. Accidents could happen, especially on a job like this.

"I'll look after you," he promised. "Just stick close."

Blake shook her head. "Do that and we'll only look more suspicious. We might as well scream that we have something to hide. We need to act perfectly natural and hope he has no idea what's going on."

"And if he does?"

She had no answer. There really wasn't one. If Oobleck decided either of them were a threat, then he wasn't sure what could be done about it. Both were expendable, and neither were as experienced as he was.

"I won't let anything happen, Blake, I promise. If that means it has to be me and you against him – then so be it."

"Against him and Ciel. She'll be coming with us."

"Pyrrha and Ren would side with us," he said, "at least until they could find out what was happening. There's no way they'd stand by if our teacher tried to kill us. They would," he insisted, when Blake looked doubtful. "They're our teammates, Blake. They're our friends."

"I know." She sighed. "We'll have to keep an eye out for them, too. It's only the two of us who know that Torchwick wants us there."

"Yeah…"

"Any idea what he's after?"

"None at all," he said. "There's still too much that isn't making sense. Torchwick, Ironwood, Ozpin, Cinder. I'm not even sure what Oobleck's angle is or why he'd be willing to go back to Mountain Glenn after what happened."

"Do you think it's possible Torchwick wants a showdown with him? It would be an auspicious place for it…"

There was no telling, really. Roman didn't feel like one capable of revenge – it just wasn't impersonal or profitable enough. Then again, what did he know about the thief? "If that's what he wants, he'll get it as far as Oobleck is concerned. He's going to have Ciel and I doing things on the side, while he tries to locate and kill Roman. Can you look after Ren and Pyrrha?"

She nodded. "Of course. If you need us just let me know."

"Thanks. Make sure to be surprised when the missions are handed out, though. We're not supposed to know about this – or you're not."

"Don't worry, I'll make it convincing." Blake moved away, though she turned at the last to flash him a teasing smirk. "And this time without you knocking me out."

"Never going to let me forget that, are you?" he asked as she walked away. She didn't hear him, or she ignored him if she had. It looked like she was a little more confident about the whole thing, however, though there was no telling how much of that was his influence or just her pretending.

Mountain Glenn. Grimm, terrorists and spies – all in one place, and with no civilians around to keep them acting nice. Jaune sighed and ran a hand down his face.

This was going to be an absolute nightmare…

/-/

"Did you hear the news?"

Cinder cocked her head to the side, acknowledging Emerald with one ear as she sipped of some herbal tea. It was fragrant and bitter, just how she liked it. "Whatever news might that be, Emerald?"

"There's been an attack on the CCT at Beacon."

"How dreadful." Cinder chuckled. "I hope no one was hurt."

"Two guards were subdued but neither was killed."

"Oh?" Cinder ran a finger around the rim of her cup and smiled. Well, well, well, that was a surprise. John wasn't quite the pussy-cat he held himself to be. Her lips curled as she considered it, and how he might have gone about disabling them. "Do go on."

"The reports suggest he wasn't able to do anything to the CCT before two students from Beacon intervened, having seen the guards. There was a battle at the top of the tower and much of the machinery was damaged."

"A battle, you say?"

"From what I'm hearing, ma'am."

Defeating unprepared soldiers was one thing, particularly with the element of surprise, but that John had been able to hold his own against two huntsmen or huntresses – even if they were in training – was more of a surprise.

Then again, he _had_ been an applicant to Beacon from what she recalled. That required at least some level of training and Roman would have no doubt provided a little more. Experience could make a man grow faster than any education could.

"Interesting. Very interesting. Was this dastardly interloper caught?"

"Doesn't seem like it, ma'am. He escaped."

"How very resourceful of him."

Cinder leaned forward and picked up her scroll, flicking through it while Emerald waited patiently nearby. There were the messages with Roman, the discussions and more, but as she navigated her way through to the programme that Watts had created, she found what she was looking for. Two words that flickered below it.

 _Status: Active_

"What should we do about John?" Emerald asked. "He hasn't replied to my messages yet. He might be dead."

"He isn't. One capable of infiltrating Beacon and facing off against two students would not die in the Emerald Forest. Not so easily. He's alive. He's merely waiting for the heat to die down." Or, more realistically, he was trying to decide how to approach her. She could understand that and appreciate it. He had, after all, technically failed in his task.

"Do you want me to find him?" Emerald asked. "I can silence him if you want me to."

 _Could you, Emerald?_ _I'm not so sure._ John was a weak and frightened man – explained so by Roman and proven so time and time again from how he acted around her. He was full of deference and she could tell she frightened him, as she should. Despite that, or perhaps because of it, his guard always seemed to be up.

She wasn't convinced Emerald could penetrate that, and unlike Mercury her role was too important to see thrown away.

"Leave our friend to me, Emerald. He hasn't failed, at least not yet. The virus is active, and I have control over the CCT. He was discovered, but so long as that does not fall back onto us it isn't a problem. In fact, more attention on him might even work to our benefit."

"People aren't going to think he only works for Torchwick anymore, ma'am. They saw him with the Paladin and you."

"Yes, but they don't know who I work for. The Paladin is no longer an issue. Roman has it in Mountain Glenn and it will soon cease to be important at all. I shall contact John and arrange for our next meeting. Until then, let us wait and see what results Roman brings us."

She stood and moved over to stand by the window of their rented apartment, staring out into the rain, toward the central plaza where – by all records – the tunnels leading to Mountain Glenn lay.

"Things are about to start moving. For Vale, and for Ozpin, it's already too late."

* * *

 **Yep, Mountain Glenn. We skipped the Paladin entirely since Blake is working with Jaune and the VSS, at least in secret. As such, we're moving straight into the Mountain Glenn mission, albeit made more complicated for the various loyalties going around.** **I didn't really want to split the mission itself up between too many chapters, so this one ends here – with Mountain Glenn beginning next chapter. It just felt better that way.**

 **And oh gods, it turned into one of those chapters where I wrote nothing but dialogue. Arghhh! The quotation marks are haunting me!**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 25** **th** **March**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	34. Chapter 34

**Busy weekend is busy. Where does all my free time go?**

* * *

 **Cover Art:** Kegi Springfield

 **Chapter 34**

* * *

Blake was, she felt, understandably nervous as they made their way into the Bullhead alongside Ciel and Oobleck. Her panic had kicked in the moment they were selected for the mission, even though she'd known it was coming. Luckily, her nerves went somewhat disguised thanks to the whole team being anxious for the task ahead. Jaune looked the most so, and that helped him blend in with both his roles, she supposed. Jaune the huntsman had good reason to be nervous as the weakest member of their team. Jaune the spy had even more reason.

Sometimes she really did wish she'd never found out about that. Life had been so easy when she believed her secret safe and sound. Not that there was anyone she could blame but herself, of course.

There was no use complaining about it; the White Fang needed to be stopped.

"Is everyone prepared?" Oobleck asked in his usual rapid-fire speech. Jaune had told her that was an act and that he normally spoke slowly and clearly. She really wished he would have done so now. "There will be no time for resupplying out in the field and we shall have to make do with what we have. Does anyone need a bathroom break before we depart?"

"The Bullhead is already moving," Ren pointed out.

"Then I suppose it is too late either way. Our task is simple, children. We are to reach Mountain Glenn and investigate it for anything unusual."

"What does that mean?" Blake asked, cringing internally when the dangerous man's attention turned on her. She couldn't afford to appear too knowledgeable, however. "Are we looking for _why_ Mountain Glenn fell?"

"Not quite, my dear. The whys are known, or at least believed to be so. There have been reports of unusual activity in the area, and that being more than just the Grimm. We're to investigate what this is and, if needs be, to stop it."

"What do you think it might be?" Pyrrha asked.

"There is no telling at this point. Survivors is a possibility, though a rare and naïve one. It might be civilians or travellers lost, or foolish youths risking their lives for glory – or even scavengers picking over the ruins. We do not judge them but for their own safety we must recover them."

"And if it's something worse?" Ciel asked. The question was so blatant, at least to Blake, that it had to be a planned one cued by the professor.

"Well, I suppose it's possible it might be criminal activity. We shall have to see when we arrive, but if so we shall move against them as we must."

 _Yeah,_ Blake thought sarcastically. _It's `possibly` criminals._

It was annoying how stupid he seemed to think they were, and yet Pyrrha and Ren fell for it easily, not because they _were_ stupid – they weren't – but because they didn't have the information she did. They were uninformed, or misinformed, and that let Oobleck, Ciel and Jaune run rings around them. It was honestly frustrating how smug the professor sounded about it, though maybe that was her imagination.

Jaune remained silent through it all, either not playing their games or not being in on the deception. He kept his head low and his attention on the metal floor beneath him. She knew why. Oobleck wanted Torchwick dead, but Jaune's deal with the man precluded that. Or did it? Dead men told no tales and it would solve any risk of Torchwick ratting Jaune out.

On the other hand, if Torchwick really was willing to work with them against Cinder, even if it was for his own benefit, then maybe that was something worth maintaining. They only knew about Mountain Glenn in the first place because the thief had personally handed Jaune the information.

This was going to be complicated – and made even more so because she'd have to tiptoe around Ciel and Oobleck lest they discover her secret. Any of her secrets.

As the Bullhead took off Blake did her best not to meet the older man's eyes.

/-/

Jaune landed with nary a stumble from the Bullhead, fanning left with Ren as the agile man landed beside him. Pyrrha and Blake took the right while Ciel and Oobleck watched the third direction, their backs protected by the wall of a ruined building. A month back he might have struggled to jump from a vehicle so high in the air, let alone nail the landing and be ready to secure a perimeter. It was a sign of how much he'd improved, and Ren's nod and smile reinforced it.

"It's quiet," Jaune said, a little surprised they hadn't been attacked the moment they landed.

"Hm. You'd expect a Bullhead to draw every Grimm in the area. Perhaps the population of Grimm isn't as vast here as was believed."

"Shouldn't it be crawling with them?"

"Not necessarily. Grimm are drawn to humans, after all. If this place is as abandoned as Doctor Oobleck suggested then it's possible many of the Grimm involved in its fall have wandered away by now, either toward the city or other villages."

Possible, but it wouldn't account for all of them. In truth the lack of heat when they landed was almost certainly due to the Grimm having been thinned out recently, and there was only one party he could think of who would be responsible for that.

Oobleck's face gave nothing away. He checked their surroundings and called the team together, adopting a lecturing pose like the eccentric teacher he wasn't. "Well, here we are, children, Mountain Glenn. It seems our arrival has gone unnoticed but that isn't likely to last. Our first job is to set up a base of operations from which we can reconnoitre the area. Now, does anyone have experience or ideas on how to do this?" He idly scanned them for hands. "Yes, Miss Nikos."

"We should take over a building, but one without a roof so nothing can fall on us," she said. "If we can find four walls with two entrances we can limit the Grimm's ability to surround us."

"Why two entrances?"

"An entrance and an exit, so that we don't get trapped." she answered dutifully.

"Good. Very good. Full marks, Miss Nikos. Does anyone have anything extra to add?"

"It should have multiple floors if possible," Ren said, "or be in a central location so we can get a better lay of the land."

"Yes, yes. Safety and shelter first, and always in that order – and only then do we consider the mission ahead. We shall scan towards the centre of the city and look for a domicile that suits our needs. As Miss Nikos said we cannot take the risk of sleeping under a roof, no matter how sturdy the construction appears. Time and wear takes their toll."

"And if we see any Grimm?" Blake asked.

"We shall slay them, Miss Belladonna – at least for now."

"For now?"

"Grimm know the area better than us and we might be able to follow them to any disturbances," he explained. "A huntsman's job is not always to kill indiscriminately, and this mission is a perfect example of that. Sometimes discretion gives us an opportunity to use our natural enemies to our advantage. That will have to wait until we have a shelter, however."

"Well, are we doing that?" Jaune asked.

"You shall, Mr Arc. Not I. This would not be much of a learning experience if I did everything for you. Chop, chop, now. Daylight is burning."

Somehow, amazingly, the Director had managed to be even more annoying in his teacher persona than he was as a spy. Jaune sighed and looked to his team, each of which shrugged in return. Even though he was nominally the leader there wasn't much in the way of a structure of command.

"I guess we'll just walk toward the middle of the city and keep our eyes open. I don't like the idea of splitting up."

"As good a plan as any," Ren agreed.

"We shouldn't separate until we have a pre-agreed location to return to," Pyrrha added. "Hence the base we need to make, I guess."

Jaune nodded. "Blake, can you scout ahead – only twenty metres or so? You've got the best eyes and you're quieter. Signal if you see anything or think we need to be quiet. Stay in sight, though."

The faunus made a quick sign of agreement and loped off.

Oobleck nodded behind him.

Mountain Glenn wasn't as intimidating a sight as he'd expected. There weren't any bodies, burned out cars or other horrible things, mostly because they'd died in the tunnels for the most part. With the signs of violence mostly absent the city itself was on full display, and it was clear Vale had pulled no stops in making it an attractive place to live and work. There were parks and long plazas lined with trees, many of which had taken over and spread through the streets. There were also several fast food joints whose names and brands he recognised. Overall, there was just more space, too. More space between the buildings and even they looked bigger than what you'd get in Vale. Mountain Glenn would have been a nice place to live.

Right up until it wasn't.

"I think I see a decent building up ahead," Blake said, jogging back to us. "It looks like an apartment block, or the remains of one. There's only two floors and the roof is collapsed inward."

Jaune looked to Oobleck for instruction but the man shrugged, leaving it to him.

"Take us to it. We'll have a look and see if it fits."

/-/

"Not bad," Oobleck said as he inspected the camp they'd set up. Blake's instincts had proven invaluable and the building, though partially destroyed, offered a good combination of wind protection and cover. What it lacked in cover from the rain was solved by their tents, which they'd set up in the centre of the ruin, gathered around a campfire. It wasn't lit at the moment and wouldn't be until later in the evening. Again, the tall walls covering them would prevent the glow from being seen for too far around.

"We'll have to organise a watch tonight," Ren said. "I'm assuming Doctor Oobleck will be exempt since this is a learning experience."

"You assume correctly," he said.

"I'll help," Ciel offered, sighing at Oobleck's decision. "If we split the responsibility between the fives of us it shouldn't be a problem. An hour and a half each; two at most."

That was if they weren't doing something else, of course. Jaune watched the Doctor but he didn't offer any thoughts or instruction. How were they supposed to do their VSS work if they were stuck with the team all day? Sneaking off at night seemed the obvious choice but they couldn't leave when someone else was on watch, nor could they leave the team defenceless.

Or was he to sneak off when Ciel held watch, and vice versa? They could cover for one another but that would mean less sleep for the both of them. _I've got a feeling that's going to be a sacrifice we'll be expected to make._

"What happens now?" he asked.

"Now, we investigate the area," Oobleck decided, taking command at last. "We shall split into teams of two, and I shall form a part of that as well, although I will see fit to move between the teams if needs be. We'll reconvene here every hour, with no failure. Anyone who is absent will be considered MIA."

Jaune's hands tightened into fists. "And left behind?"

"No…" Oobleck shot him a bemused expression. "They will be considered in need of rescue and we shall strike out in search of them. I'm simply pressing the importance of meeting back here on the hour."

Blake sent him a warning look, not that he needed it. He'd let his panic take over, and also snapped at Oobleck for it. Damn it. He needed to remember that Roman's words might well be complete lies, even if Oobleck hadn't done anything to disprove them yet. Of course he wouldn't leave any students behind here. That would not only be wasteful, both to Beacon and Vale, but it would also raise suspicions and anger from the other teachers.

"We shall split with partners for now," Oobleck said, ignoring the issue. "Ciel, as a transfer, will accompany myself. The rest of you spread out and look for any evidence of unusual activity."

"Understood," Ren said, moving over to stand by Pyrrha. "We meet back here on each hour?"

"Missing the first, yes," Oobleck said, checking his scroll. "That means the first shift will be an hour and ten minutes, and all after will be a single hour. We shall share information as needs be and cordon off areas of the map that we've investigated. In the event of an incident, or a discovery, send a message to everyone but maintain call silence."

 _You're falling into a military style,_ Jaune felt like saying. The way Oobleck spoke wasn't quite what one might have expected from a history teacher. Ren and Pyrrha had noticed, but both looked more impressed than suspicious.

Jaune and Blake struck out towards the west, leaving the others to choose their own destinations while they moved toward what looked to be a half-constructed CCT Tower. It had been abandoned when the city fell and clearly wasn't operable, but if any of its machinery could be brought online it would be a boon to the White Fang. Such was their theory, anyway. It proved moot when they reached the interior and found both the elevator and staircases destroyed.

"There's no way they could use this," Blake said, hopping down from a perch above. She'd tried to climb it, just to see if it was possible. It wasn't. "Did Oobleck give you any secret mission?"

"No."

"No codes in what he said earlier?"

"If there were, I missed them," he admitted freely.

"Weird. How does he expect us to just find Torchwick? This city is huge and there's the underground and tunnels, too. They could be anywhere." Blake's eyes narrowed. "You don't think he knows about you and Torchwick, do you?"

"I hope not. I doubt he'd have been willing to come out here in person if he thought it was an ambush."

"Have you tried _calling_ Torchwick?"

Jaune paused. "What?"

"Think about it, he gave you the information that he'd be here. There's no way he wasn't prepared for what might happen, so is there any risk to calling him? The worst that happens is that he doesn't give you any information."

"We'd lose the element of surprise," he said.

"Do we even have that? Torchwick told you to be here. There's no way he isn't expecting you."

Blake had a point as gruelling as it was to admit it. Roman had his plans and those plans involved them being sent to investigate him, even if he doubted the crook had expected termination to be their mission. With that in mind, would he get a better moment to make a call without Ciel or Oobleck noticing? Probably not. "Alright. Back up, though. You can listen in, but I don't want him to see or hear you nearby."

She nodded and stepped back, ducking low and making a signal that he was good to go. With a fair bit of trepidation, he dialled the number. Mountain Glenn was close enough to pick up the CCT's signal in Vale, but it was incredibly weak. Calling someone nearby would be a little easier, however. The scroll dialled, the ringing tone echoing through the speaker.

It continued on for the longest time, enough so that he didn't think there would be an answer. Until, with a click, it stopped.

" _John."_ Roman's voice greeted. _"Nice to see you could make it to the party."_

"Roman." He nodded to the man, but also Blake beyond the scroll. She returned it. "We managed to get into that scroll you gave me. I assume you meant for us to take a trip down to Mountain Glenn."

" _You know what they say about assumptions, kid. Still, you're on the ball this time. I take it Bart gave you a little mission to capture me."_

"Actually, it was to kill you."

Roman appeared shocked, though only for a second. He laughed bitterly. _"Oh, Bart, how you've changed. I remember a time when he'd have done anything he could to bring me back to the `light` as he put it. Heh, I guess time changes a man."_ Roman shrugged. _"Well, welcome to Mountain Glenn, the place where it all began, at least for me. I'd come by and give you the tour but I'm a little busy at the moment."_

"With what?"

" _Come on, kid. You think I'm going to make it that easy for you?"_

"You wouldn't have brought us here just to let us not find you," Jaune said. "Why take the risk? Tell me where you are, and we can get this show on the road."

" _Be patient. You'll figure it out in time. Besides, the stage needs to be prepared for our final battle."_

"Enough with the theatrics, Roman."

" _Hey, you're the one that called it a show. Still, I'll give you a little hint. It'll be your job to figure it out – and to pass that information onto Bart without him getting wind. If he's willing to kill me, you'll be nothing more than an afterthought. If he thinks you've turned traitor…"_

"I haven't. I'm loyal to Vale and the VSS."

" _The fact you're talking to me says otherwise."_ Roman chuckled. _"Anyway, I'll just say that we have no interest in Mountain Glenn. That should be enough for you to figure it out."_

"That's your hint!?"

" _Yep. Take it or leave it, but I'd give it some thought if I were you. Cheerio!"_

"Roman, wait!"

The scroll flicked off, and when he pushed the number again it came back with Roman's scroll turned off. He cursed and shoved his away, frustrated at the lack of information, not to mention the games the irritating thief was making them play.

"I heard everything," Blake said. "He's more annoying than I expected."

"He's worse in person. The smuggest individual on the planet."

"Hm, and I thought Weiss could be bad," Blake said, laughing. "Still, it shows he has something in mind, at least for you and Oobleck. I'm not sure if he's aware of Ciel or not. You might be able to use that to your advantage."

"Only if I figure out what exactly my goal is."

"Hm?"

"Do I want to kill Roman like Oobleck says, or do I want to let him live and bank on him helping against Cinder."

"A difficult choice…" Blake sighed and looked away. "I think… I think it would be best if you were the one to decide. I'll leave the final decision to you and go with whatever you choose."

"You don't have your own ideas?"

"I do, but…" She sighed. "I think history has shown my plans aren't always the best. I've made too many mistakes before to have a say in this. First my family, and then the White Fang – even threatening to kill you. I'll trust you to make the call."

The faith surprised him, especially from her. "You trust me that much?"

She shrugged. "I don't have much of a choice."

"You could have just said yes, you know. Spare my ego and all that…"

"Then yes," she said, with a hint of a smile. "I trust you."

"Now you just sound sarcastic."

"You'll survive. Come on, we need to have a better look around this area of Oobleck will get suspicious. We have to report back in half an hour and we've not seen so much as a single Grimm, let alone the White Fang. Or these _`survivors_ ` he wants to pretend we're looking for."

Jaune followed after her. There was work to be done.

/-/

"We found some Grimm," Pyrrha said, finishing her report. "There was a small pack of Beowolves to the north, by the border into the wasteland around the city. We tried to do what you suggested before and follow them, but they were just milling around."

"Did you kill them?" Oobleck asked.

"No. Ren thought it might alarm anyone who might be alive nearby."

"A good call. No matter what we're dealing with here it's best we remain hidden for now. Sound can travel, and more Grimm will surely investigate." Oobleck poked the fire with a stick. After numerous rounds they'd found little but once the sun fell they'd decided to set up camp. None of them were faunus, or at least as far as most were aware.

Jaune wasn't sure if Oobleck knew what Blake was hiding or not, as Ciel certainly was, but either way they couldn't call her out on it and since Oobleck knew the White Fang would be here, he wouldn't risk them at night. It gave the White Fang too much of an advantage.

"It's a little frustrating to not find anything," Blake whispered.

"Worry not, my dear, it's only been a few hours of searching. This was always going to take time. We'll rest for the night. Jaune, I want you to take the first watch and Ciel the second. Then it shall be Pyrrha, Ren and finally Blake."

Blake didn't look pleased to have the last, likely because she'd need to lower her defences and sleep around three spies that might realistically want her dead. Even so she nodded and moved away with the others, preparing their bags. Jaune had a feeling she'd set some kind of trap up in her tent just in case.

Oobleck cornered him after giving the others time to fall asleep. "Find time to settle into the Mountain Glenn life, Rat?"

"This could have been a nice area," he replied. "I guess you wanted me to have first watch so I can do something while you keep watch. Where do you want me?"

"Not quite."

"We're not doing anything?"

"We are, but you're not," Oobleck said. There was a sound behind him as Ciel quietly left her tent. "Ciel and I shall scout the area while you keep watch. If anyone wakes tell them we heard something and went to investigate."

"Wait, I'm not doing anything?"

"Our work isn't always glamorous, Rat. Ciel and I are more experienced. Cover her watch if we're not back in time and make excuses where necessary. If we're lucky the two of us will finish this tonight and we can be back in Beacon before tomorrow night."

"Alright, I understand." He sighed and leaned back onto a rock, using it as a seat. "Good luck out there."

"We'll leave the luck to you, rookie," Ciel said. Oobleck chuckled and shook his head, waving once before the two slipped off into the night. They moved quickly, vanishing behind a building and away towards the east. The minutes after passed in complete silence, but for the rhythmic breathing of his sleeping team.

 _I can't believe we came all this way for me to do nothing. I know Oobleck and Ciel are stronger than I am but I'm not useless._ He wasn't sure if they saw him as that or not. Someone had to stay guard and play dumb if the others woke up, and it didn't make much sense for it to be the best of them. This was just a case of efficiency and if someone had to stay behind it might as well be the amateur. Still, it was frustrating. He was as much a part of Mountain Glenn as they, perhaps even more since it had been him to get the information from Roman.

Jaune eyed his scroll once more, wondering if he should call the man. Probably not. Pyrrha or Ren might overhear and there was a chance it would tip Roman off to the two spies currently looking for him. There was a callous part of him that also hoped they found the thief. It would take the need to make a decision on what to do about Roman out of his hands.

The night slowly ticked by. In the distance he heard the shuffling of figures that might have been Grimm. Beyond that he imagined he could hear the distant hum of Vale, the city never sleeping. No one tested their campsite, it being hidden enough to conceal the campfire and small number of tents. He busied himself tossing and catching a small stone, and then trying to make shapes out of the stars in the night sky.

At any moment he expected to hear distant gunfire signifying the VSS had met with Roman, but it never came. That didn't mean anything, of course. A silent assassination would always be better. As an hour ticked by and came closer to two, it came to the point for Ciel's watch and they'd still not returned.

"Guess I'm doing this as well," he grumbled.

It was almost amusing to think how bored he was. Had he become attached to adrenaline and action? He didn't think so. It was more likely the tedium was just far worse. They'd obviously intended to make use of all the time they had and leave him with Ciel's watch. If this mission wasn't sorted tonight it might be reversed tomorrow, with Oobleck taking him and Ciel being forced to stand still for three hours. One could only hope.

With a long sigh he settled down and prepared for another hour or more.

Jaune checked his scroll. The time had passed. Technically speaking Ciel's watch had ended twenty minutes ago and he should have awoken Pyrrha by now. He'd held off, hoping to avoid the chore of making excuses for Oobleck and Ciel by waiting until they came back. That window of opportunity had gone now.

 _You're cutting it awfully close here,_ he thought, frowning. This might have been a part of the plan too, or at least an acceptable risk. Why else tell him he might have to make excuses for them unless they intended to make use of it? Couldn't Oobleck just have said that? Did he really need to be so secretive, even around his own allies?

"You know what, screw it," he said, standing. "You can explain to them where you went." He strode over to Pyrrha's tent and hesitated at the flap, slapping a hand on it a second later. He didn't want to take the risk of her being undressed. Or, well, he kind of did but knew he shouldn't. Instead he kept hitting on the fabric until he heard a surprised snort from within.

Pyrrha took a second to shuffle to the entrance and unzip it. Her hair was a little out of place as she peeked out of the tent, looking remarkably adorable when tired. "Is it my watch already?" she yawned. "Wait, Jaune? Shouldn't it be Ciel?"

"Yeah," he said. "And yeah, it's your watch. Get ready and I'll explain."

She nodded and ducked back in, unzipping the tent and leaving a second later in her normal outfit, though without her armour plates. Considering she was only going to be awake for an hour and a half it didn't make sense to put all those on. Her eyes strayed over the camp, quickly noticing what was wrong.

"Ciel heard a disturbance," he explained. "That's why I'm awake. She woke Oobleck to tell him and he decided they'd go investigate. They woke me up to keep watch so the team wouldn't be undefended."

"They went on their own?"

"Yes."

"Well, I suppose Doctor Oobleck _is_ a professional huntsman…" Pyrrha bit on her lip, clearly unsure what to say or do but obviously not liking the situation. "Did they say when they would be back?"

"No, but I'm sure they'll be back before the morning."

"I suppose it's not like they would know how long it would take to investigate a disturbance. You haven't heard anything, have you?"

"No. No gunshots and that's what I'd expect if either of them got into a fight."

That, at least, was cause for some relief in Pyrrha. "I see. That's good. Well, they have our scroll numbers if they need us. You should get some rest. I'll be okay to stand watch until it's Ren's turn. Thanks for waking me up."

/-/

Blake pushed a hand against his shoulder. "Wake up."

"Hngh…"

"Wake up." She shook him again. "Come on, we don't have time."

"Ugh…" Jaune cracked an eye open and fought past his instinctive urge to scream in fright when he saw a bright yellow pair of eyes staring into his. Whoever had said waking up to a pretty girl was the best thing in the world obviously hadn't tried Blake. "W-What, why? You could have knocked on the tent."

"I did," the girl pressed, dragging him up so that he couldn't fall asleep again. "I then unzipped and zipped your tent over and over hoping the noise, or the cold air, would wake you up. It didn't. Besides, you need to wake up. We have a problem?"

"Torchwick?" he whispered.

"No, Oobleck and Ciel."

Jaune's eyes widened and he snapped awake immediately. "What is it?"

"They didn't return."

Fighting past his shock, Jaune dragged himself from the sleeping roll and out into the morning light, following after Blake. Pyrrha and Ren were already awake and scanning their surroundings, but true to Blake's words there was no sign of the professor nor the transfer student. Their bags were still in the camp, as was Oobleck's thermos.

Damn it. Not good.

"Jaune, you're awake," Pyrrha said, hurrying over. "Doctor Oobleck and Ciel didn't return last night. I never even saw them. We've tried calling them on their scrolls and everything. There's nothing!"

"Let me try."

"We already did!"

Yes, but they hadn't tried communicating through VSS channels. He strode a little away from the camp, under the guise of seeking some signal, and used the hidden mic on his collar, hiding the act by holding the scroll to his ear. "Director? Crane? This is Rat, report."

He received static in return.

"Oobleck, Ciel, are you there?"

It was unlike them not to respond, especially to something like that. His heart beat a little harder in his chest. Had something happened? Roman knew they'd be coming, and knew they were here since he'd broken protocol and called the man. Had that tipped him off? What if by his own actions he'd led Ciel and Oobleck into a trap?

No, they wouldn't fall for something like that. Oobleck was the Director of the VSS, for crying out loud. He wasn't going to fall into a trap like that. Ciel was experienced as well, with a record of perfect missions up until he'd messed it up. They could look after themselves, he had to remember that. He had to _believe_ in that.

But where did that leave Team ABRN?

"We have to do something," Blake said, coming up behind him. "We can't just sit here and wait for them if something has happened."

"I know that. I… I just don't know _what_ to do." And worse, everyone was waiting for him to make a decision. With Oobleck gone, he was the only one left with any authority. Maybe the two would come back, but maybe they wouldn't. Maybe they needed help.

If so, was there anything he could actually do?

"Jaune…?"

"Break camp," he called, turning back. "We need to try and find them, and they can reach us if they return here and can't find us. Pyrrha, can you write and leave a note here in case they come back? Tell them to contact one of us. Ren, get the tents rolled back up and try to split Oobleck and Ciel's gear between the four of us." The two nodded and made to prepare. "But leave a flask and some rations here just in case," he added, "and maybe a single medical pack."

"Good idea," Blake praised. "But do you know where we're going to look?"

"They must have gone after Roman," he whispered. "We find him, and we find them."

"But where is Torchwick?"

No idea, at least not yet. Mountain Glenn was a huge place and there was too much ground to cover. Roman wasn't about to tell them where he was, either, not anymore than he already had. _He has no interest in Mountain Glenn. What is that supposed to mean?_ If he had no interest in the damn place, then why was he even here? Why were the White Fang here at all?

It didn't make sense if there was nothing in Mountain Glenn they wanted. It was just a city tacked onto Vale to deal with over-population. There just wasn't anything worth capturing out here, let alone any point in making a base in Grimm territory. All their previous operations, under Cinder, had been in Vale, and targeted at the city itself.

"I know where to find them."

Blake froze. "You do? How?"

"Roman's clue. The White Fang have no interest in Mountain Glenn. Why would they be here if they had no interest? If they're not looking for something, then it's because Mountain Glenn has something they've found useful, and if that's not in the city itself…" His eyes turned back towards the distant walls of Vale. "Then it's in Vale."

"The tunnels…" Blake realised. "They want to use the tunnels as a way to get into Vale. But why? They were already _in_ the city. Why leave just to come back?"

"Unless they want to bring something in that they couldn't smuggle past the walls."

"The stolen Paladin?"

"No, they already had that in the city. They used the tunnels to get that out, but now they want something _else_ brought in. And right now, there's only one thing Mountain Glenn has that Vale doesn't."

Blake gasped. "Grimm…"

"Blake, I need you to do something for me. Do you remember that CCT we went to earlier, the one that wasn't finished? Do you think you could reach the terminal room at the top?"

"I could try. It's not a climb the White Fang could make but I should be able to with Gambol Shroud. Why? It's not complete so there's nothing up there."

"Something like Mountain Glenn couldn't exist without some means of contacting Vale in the case of an emergency. Even if the CCT wasn't completed there must be a signal booster up there, something I could use to reach Vale."

"That sounds possible. Who would you call?"

Jaune smiled weakly. "The VSS, of course. Someone called Magician."

"One of your agents," she realised. "What can she do? We're too far away for them to send any help."

"Mountain Glenn was an expansion of Vale, right? That means it must have been an expansion of everything, not just from the citizens but to the hospitals, police and other emergency services."

"Including security," she realised. "National security. You think the VSS had a base out here?"

"At least an outpost or some safehouses. If Oobleck and Ciel _are_ in trouble, then we're going to need better equipment to try and rescue them." He stepped back to look Blake up and down with a nervous grin. "So, you ever wondered what you'd look like as an international woman of mystery?"

Blake's surprised faded into amusement. "Do I get some of those fancy gadgets you use?"

"Perks of the job."

"I'm sold."

* * *

 **Things and stuff – and Blake in tight black leather. Wait, what? Where am I? So, yes, Oobleck and Ciel. If you two are knick-knack-paddy whacking this is going to be very awkward. On the other hand, a re-supply of equipment, and maybe more considering who is with him.**

 **This is one of those stories where the focus really is just on a few characters, which is always tough because I don't _want_ to ignore Ren and Pyrrha, but the premise of the story just doesn't really involve the full team as much as it could. Sometimes that's just an issue when writing fanfiction for a show that has so many blooming characters. You've got your eight on the teams, and then Ozpin and Qrow, and then Sun, and Illia, and Neptune and they just keep throwing more in. Do we need more characters? Are we even getting enough screen time FOR the main characters? Who knows. Here, have Oscar. He's _two_ characters. Does that help?**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 1** **st** **April**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	35. Chapter 35

**Okay, so, you all caught the message last week. I do pretty much have to post an AN like that because if I don't, and with my strict deadlines for updates, I instantly get barraged by hundreds of PMs asking me what is wrong, if I've died, if I've forgotten, if there was a site error… I really have no choice if I don't want to have to respond to all those PMs individually,** _ **and**_ **to every review asking why it's not updated.**

 **Anyway, my sister is okay though has had surgery and rods put into her leg (and a cage around it) to help the bone align so she can heal. I'm looking after her dogs right now and was looking after her children for a few days after it happened. No, it wasn't an April fool's joke (come on, people… really?).**

 **I deleted the note the other day, but I've been told it may have tried to say that was an "update" for some reason. No idea why and it shouldn't have done that, but perhaps the site was acting up.**

* * *

 **Cover Art:** Kegi Springfield

 **Chapter 35**

* * *

" _I'm not able to get a read on the Director's location,"_ Magician reported. _"I can't say whether that's because something has happened or because of the signal, however. We use secure access to the Beacon CCT, but that isn't strong enough to get a pinpoint location on Mountain Glenn. I'm sorry."_

"I understand." Jaune sat crouched in the remains of a hollowed-out house with his scroll attached to a bulky machine Blake had rescued from the top of the abandoned CCT. It was a handheld black cube with a battery pack on the side and a silvery antenna that poked up into the air. Though the resulting signal was crackly at best, it was still enough for him to reach Vale and that was what was important.

Blake sat a little to the side, out of sight and careful not to make a sound. They'd split up from Pyrrha and Ren earlier, with him giving the excuse that they wanted to try and signal boost a call to Oobleck while the others looked for clues. Not wanting to sit still, Pyrrha and Ren had agreed.

" _If the Director has fallen-"_

"He hasn't fallen," Jaune snapped back. Magician remained silent and he took a moment to calm his nerves. "The Director's fate is unconfirmed," he said. "It's too early to assume the worst and he had support in the form of Crane."

" _I understand, Rat. Regardless, if his ability to complete the mission has been compromised, protocol dictates that the responsibility falls on you."_ Magician's voice became a little softer. _"Of course, if you wanted to search for the Director, I'm sure he would be closer to the mission objective as well."_

"I'll be doing both at once," he confirmed. "Magician, I'm out of equipment and have no means to resupply. Can you check the VSS databases and see if there is a HQ in Mountain Glenn?"

" _There was no HQ established there, though there were plans for one. I think there should be a safehouse or two, however. Those should have supplies."_ The woman on the line paused as she looked through the VSS' system. _"Ah, I've found two. The city wasn't far along enough for more. I'll upload the location of both to your scroll, along with the last-known passcodes."_

"Will they still be standing?"

" _VSS only employs buildings specially reinforced by our own engineers; it wouldn't do for a wall to fall down and expose secretive and dangerous technology, after all. They'll be the most reinforced buildings in all of Mountain Glenn."_

"Good. I'll check them out and supply, then go find the Director and Crane. If needs be, I'll complete the mission while I'm at it."

" _Good luck, Rat."_

The call winked out and he plucked his scroll from the black box, storing it away. "Rat?" Blake asked, more than a little amused. He was grateful for that since it kept his own spirits from dipping into morbid territory.

"It was a joke from Oobleck. Something about a cornered rat being the most dangerous."

"Let's hope it's true." She leaned over to touch his arm. "We'll find them, Jaune. Let's not assume the worst just yet. They could be completing the mission even now and we just wouldn't know. It might not be all doom and gloom."

"Right." He nodded and checked the map Magician had uploaded for him. "Assuming both are standing, there's one safehouse near the underground entrances to the east. We'll start there and see what we can find."

Blake nodded, smile gone, all business. "Lead on."

/-/

"This must be the place," Blake said, not an hour later. They were stood in front of what appeared to be a butcher's store. "It's still standing," she marvelled, "even the storefront itself."

"Pretty suspicious given that its neighbours are rubble…"

"True, but I doubt the VSS expected it would face a disaster of this magnitude."

Jaune pushed through the door, which was at least a little rotted and hung from one hinge, and into the main store space. There wasn't much to it other than a counter, till and some empty racks. There was an apartment above, the shop being one of those bottom floor shop, top floor houses, that were so common in Vale. He had to wonder if the proprietor had been in the know, or maybe even an Agent himself. Probably. Every Agent needed his or her cover.

"The access panel should be somewhere behind the counter," he said, following the details on his scroll as he stepped around the furniture. He crouched down by a cooler and pushed his shoulder into it, slowly shifting it to the side. Several electrical sockets were revealed behind it, one full of plugs to various equipment, the other empty. Hs shoved his fingers into the sockets.

"What are you doing?" Blake hissed.

"The VSS likes to hide things in places no sane person would want to look," he explained, gripping hold and twisting. There was an audible click and the socket gave way, sliding out of the wall. Behind it, a small dial with a panel and nine numbers was revealed. "And here we go, right as advertised."

"And if it wasn't? If you got zapped to death?"

"There isn't any power still in Mountain Glenn…"

"That's not the point! Warn me the next time you're about to do something like that."

Jaune shook his head and focused on the task at hand, slowly typing in the numbers as they were revealed on his scroll. It was an eight-digit lock with two levels of authorisation based in two different codes. Not a fast thing by any means, but secure against wandering or lucky hands. As he finished the last digit there was a beep and a hiss. Rather than the wall in front of him opening, there was a click from below.

"A trap door," Blake realised, drawing his eyes to what had at first appeared a seamless set of tiles on the floor. Six or so were now distended, popped upwards by a mechanism. There was a hidden basement. They moved the tiles easily, slipping down into the dark. Blake found a light switch with her unimpeded vision, revealing a narrow staircase to a second door of solid metal construction. "Please tell me you have another passcode."

"I do. They're outdated but no one has been around to change them, so… there." The door clicked and swung inwards. He motioned with one hand. "Ladies first."

"What if it's trapped?"

"After three passcodes and a hidden corridor?"

Blake sighed and stepped inside. Nothing happened, and he followed, breathing a sigh of relief when the automatic lights came on.

"An emergency generator?"

"Probably," he said. "VSS can't afford to be locked out of their gear if there's a power cut." It was a relatively small and secure basement, not too large with a single central room. There was what appeared to be a seated area in the middle, probably for resting or comfort as one changed. Lockers lined one wall and some cabinets the opposite. At the far end was a map of Mountain Glenn, along with a large screen of some kind.

It was easy to imagine the place being used by Agents. They might sit on the benches as their mission was provided by an organiser from Vale. Then, they would gear up from the lockers and head out. What happened to them when the city fell? Did they escape, or did they give their lives trying to help the civilians evacuate?

There was no telling.

"What do we do now?" Blake asked.

"I don't have a locker here since I didn't even know the VSS existed when Mountain Glenn fell. I wasn't even born. I guess we help ourselves to whatever is on offer. Nothing should be locked at this point."

"I can have anything?" If asked later, he was sure Blake would deny there had been any excitement in her tone. As it was her eyes glinted.

"If you find something you don't understand, ask me. If I know, I'll explain."

She was gone a second later, already rummaging through the lockers. Jaune laughed and joined her, pulling one open and inspecting the familiar uniform inside. It didn't seem the fashion had changed much in twenty or so years, which was lucky given the circumstances. Finding one his size was more of a problem. The people who had worked here before, he realised, consisted of a very tall and muscled man, and several much smaller individuals.

Eventually he was able to find something that fit, if barely. He pulled on the coat but hesitated at the trousers, vest and helmet. "If we go full uniform we'll be able to conceal our identities," he said.

"Isn't that the point?" Blake asked. "If I help you rescue Oobleck and Ciel they'll know who I am. I thought the whole point of this was to act like we're rogue VSS agents or something." She drew out one of the masked helmets and hoisted it in her hands.

"It is, but what about Pyrrha and Ren? If we mask up, we won't be able to interact with them."

"Is that an issue? Even if they see us, we can just pretend we're someone else. It's not like we intend to leave Mountain Glenn without them, so we can break off, take off the uniforms and meet back up with them whenever we have to."

"I suppose…"

"It's not like we can't call them either. We can communicate if we have to, just not in person. But if we _do_ come across Oobleck and Ciel, and we _don't_ have disguises, there's a chance we'll both be killed. Me for knowing too much; you for telling me."

She was right, of course. With a sigh, he moved over to show Blake how to unlatch the bask, pulling it up over her head and securing it in place. It took a moment to bunch her long hair inside it, but eventually she had it on. Her head moved but no sound came forth.

"You can't speak through it," he explained with a laugh. "I can't hear a word you're saying. It's a security precaution, and also to make sure we can't be tortured. Here." He took her hand and led a finger to the button on the side, pressing it in. "Speak now."

"Tortured?" Blake asked, voice a little tinny from the old speakers. "The more I learn, the less I like."

"It's the hard truth, I guess. No use hiding it. Once I have my mask on we'll be able to communicate via a private channel, so you won't need to keep holding that. It's only for speaking to people in the outside world. We'll need it if we have to make a scroll call to Pyrrha or Ren."

"Got it."

Jaune slipped into his own uniform, the two facing away from one another awkwardly as they disrobed. While the mask was complicated, the average trousers, armoured vest and coat were not, and luckily – for Blake, anyway – there was no help he needed to give to assist his partner in dressing. Once they were both in the full black and indistinguishable from one another apart from an inch or two of height, he showed her how to use the private channels within the mask and set one up.

"No one can hear us when we communicate like this," he said.

" _Not even the VSS?"_

"Not unless they have the exact channel and encryption. Even if we find Oobleck and Ciel, they won't be able to get in because these masks are from ages ago. Everything is out of date. If they give us a channel we'll be able to access it, but you might not want to…"

" _Tell them my mask is damaged,"_ Blake said. " _As such, I can't communicate. As for a name, I saw one on the locker here. Call me Tiger_."

"Alright, and I'm Rat." He spared a second to curse at the unfairness of their two names, before he shook his head and moved over to the other girl. "Let me show you how some of these gadgets work before we go. You're going to need them."

/-/

"They're they are _,_ " Blake whispered, before she recalled their voices couldn't be heard through the masks and spoke in a more natural voice. The two were at the walls, looking down through the cracked roads and pavements to the tunnels that would lead to Vale, now open to the sunlight above.

" _It looks like a large group of White Fang."_ Jaune's voice echoed in her mask, neither too quiet nor too loud and perfectly hidden from the outside world. The White Fang would have killed for equipment like this – quite literally, in fact. _"There's a big container over there. My pay cheque says it's the Paladin."_

"The stolen Atlas mech? Why would they bring it out here if they went to so much trouble to get it _into_ Vale?"

" _I've no idea but no one saw them approach Mountain Glenn, and these tunnels were sealed years ago. They must have excavated them, which means they brought the Paladin from the city to here via the tunnels_."

It seemed a waste of effort to Blake, especially since judging from the train they intended to go _back_ to Vale. Why bring the Paladin here and then take it back? Unless you needed it for some reason during the journey, of course. The fact that it was a military mech didn't assuage her fears any.

"We should split up," Blake suggested.

Jaune didn't like the idea. _"Why?"_

"We need to find Oobleck and Ciel first, and then move to get Oobleck out. It could take us hours if we stick together and we'll only stand out like sore thumbs."

" _You're right."_ Jaune sighed and ran a hand over the back of his mask, a tick of his he usually did with his hair. _"Okay but stay quiet and don't be seen. Call me if you need me, even in combat. No one can hear if you do."_

She appreciated his concern but had to roll her eyes at it a little. She'd been doing this a lot longer than he had, and probably with more success. With the added gadgetry of the VSS, the odds were even more in her favour. She hopped off the broken tarmac and down onto a girder that stuck out, looped a hand around it and swung herself into an alcove between the roof of a building and the roads above. The whole area was caked in shadow and despite what people believed, that didn't mean nothing against the faunus.

Faunus eyes worked on the basis of being able to turn a more limited amount of light into vision, much like certain animals did with the low light of the moon. Their eyesight was much better in the dark, enough so for humans to call it perfect night vision, but it wasn't quite perfect. If an area was dark enough, or perhaps even pitch black, then a faunus would be just as blind as anyone else.

And the White Fang weren't really expecting any intruders, either. They had a perimeter of guards set up for Grimm which she skipped past with ease, sticking to the higher ground of the rooftops. There were some guards up here too, but they leaned over edges with rifles, watching for Grimm. Blake slipped by with nary a sound, leaving them behind so as not to trip an alarm.

There was no telling how Jaune was doing, but since no ruckus had been caused, she had to assume he was fine. _It's impressive how quickly he adapted to his role since he's so new. Well, unless he's been lying the whole time and has been a spy for years._ She doubted it. Call it trust or something else, but she felt she would have known if was lying. _There's such a thing as too much paranoia, Blake. Not every single person is a spy._

Blake came to a stop atop a building and skirted to the edge, crouching to look over and below at the odd train resting on the end of a series of tracks. If the tunnels had been collapsed, the tracks would surely have been damaged. The White Fang had repaired those, too. That was a lot of effort to go through.

Jaune had already figured out they wanted to bring Grimm into the city, but the exact `how` remained a mystery. Simply leaving the tunnels open would probably draw them by virtue of all the negativity in the city, but the White Fang presumably wanted something bigger; a full-scale incursion of Grimm.

How did you do that with a train and a stolen battle mech? The train's noise might attract attention, but if you wanted Grimm to follow it, then what was the anti-Grimm robot for? It contradicted their goals, surely. Blake watched as several White Fang approached the train, two carrying a large wooden container between them. _Hello… what do we have here?_

Waiting for the terrorists to stash it on the train and head back to where they'd got it from, Blake saw them enter a building slightly more structurally secure than the others. The lower floor, anyway. The upper looked to be abandoned and partially collapsed. It was that which she slipped into, climbing over rubble and metal to reach the staircase leading down. Pressing her back to the wall above, she listened to the voices below.

"Why do we have to be the ones to do all the heavy lifting?"

"Seriously, can you bitch a little less? This is hard enough without you spending all your energy whining."

"I'm just saying this isn't what I signed up for."

"Then why did you?"

"To change the world."

"Yeah? Well changing the world requires a little lifting. Now shut up and help me."

There was a huff and some grunting as the two struggled with something heavy. Blake waited for the whining voice to disappear before she descended. A quick glance out the door showed the two slowly headed back to the train. With a nod, she turned the other way, into the room they'd just left which happened to be filled with containers of various shapes of sizes, each carefully sealed shut.

There was no telling how much time she had, so she hurried over to the first and checked the latch, finding it a simple switch rather than a locking system. The top opened up, revealing rows upon rows of glass vials filled with dust of different colours.

 _The dust from the robberies, or some of it,_ she realised, looking over the crates. There really wasn't enough here to be all of it with Torchwick stealing a whole shipping container from the docks. Even so, there was more than enough here to supply this amount of White Fang for years.

Or for a very short time – in a very violent explosion.

"Rat?" a voice hissed from behind.

Blake stiffened.

"Rat, is that you? Thank God…"

A figure limped out of the shadows of the room, clutching one arm to her side. She was garbed in white armour in a similar fashion to Blake's, but much bulkier. Though the person wore a mask, she knew who it was, and the voice came through the speakers rather than the system between their helmets.

"What channel are you on?" Ciel asked. "It's too dangerous to speak here."

Blake hesitated. They couldn't add her to the channel or Ciel would realise what was going on. At the same time, she couldn't afford to waste time because they needed to know what had happened. It was a difficult decision and the few seconds she spent not answering were enough to make the other spy nervous.

"Rat?" Ciel stepped back, she reached for her weapon. "Answer me, Rat!"

Damn it. Not good. Blake held her hands up before her, but in a moment of inspiration nodded her head firmly. While the other girl was confused, she rapped her knuckle on the side of the helmet and made a shrugging motion.

"It doesn't work?" Ciel asked.

Blake nodded. She made some vague motions she knew were gibberish but which Ciel _might_ have imagined were a terrible game of charades as `Jaune` tried to explain the situation. It ended with another shrug from Blake, and a loud sigh from Ciel.

"Never mind. You're here and that's enough. They took the Director. Roman took Oobleck."

Voices from behind reminded them of where they were, and Blake quickly motioned for Ciel to follow, bringing her up the stairs and toward the second floor. As she did, she patched herself through to Jaune once more. "Jaune, I've found Ciel."

" _She's okay?"_

"Injured but alive – she says Oobleck has been captured."

" _Damn it. I'm on my way."_

"No, wait. Ciel thinks I'm you."

" _What?"_

"I told her I was you," she explained. "Look, just stay low for now and try to find either Oobleck or Roman. I'll work with Ciel and see if we can't find him, too. You might want to give Pyrrha and Ren a call and have them head over this way. If we need to get out fast, we can't leave them behind."

" _And if they ask why we're suddenly dressed like this?"_

"We found the outfits in an abandoned building. It's not even a lie."

" _Tch, fine."_ Jaune sighed and was obviously not quite as amused. _"Try not to ruin my reputation while you're busy being me."_

Ruin his reputation? Ha, if anything she'd add to it.

"I take it you saw what was in those containers," Ciel said, waiting for Blake to nod. "They've been stashing that dust on the train for the last few hours. The Paladin is kept separately but there looks to be a car set apart for it near the front of the train. Oobleck was caught trying to investigate that."

Blake tilted her head, making the question clear.

"It was Roman and that girl with the illusions. They were both waiting in the car. They even let us look around for a few minutes before they struck. Oobleck went down fast and I… I wasn't strong enough to help him." Ciel snarled and glared to the side. "It was two against one. I had no option but to retreat. I… I didn't want to leave him."

She really hadn't by the sound of it. Jaune might have wanted to stay and fight a battle like that, but Blake wasn't quite so reckless, and was grateful Ciel wasn't either. She reached out and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, patting her armour as a way to show she didn't think Ciel's actions were cowardly.

"Thanks. We need to get him out, though. Where's the rest of your team?"

Blake waved in the direction of Mountain Glenn.

"Right, we'll try and finish this before they get suspicious then. As far as I see it, the White Fang are loading dust onto the train to ship to Vale," Ciel said, moving through the abandoned building with Blake close behind. "Since it came from Vale, I doubt this is just logistics. The train car Oobleck and I checked out had some mechanism for dethatching the cars behind it on a timer system. Oobleck thinks their plan is to set each to blow, dust included, and make a series of explosions through the tunnels."

Fear surged through her, thankfully hidden by the mask. Explosions like that might rock the foundations of Vale, causing entire streets to collapse. Specifically, to collapse down into Grimm-infested tunnels. It would be a double blow of an earthquake and an invasion all in one, with no chance of stemming the tide.

"We think the Paladin is there to help the White Fang escape after the impact, or to cause as much damage as possible. It stinks of a suicide mission, at least for the faunus. There's room in the Paladin for two and I think we both know which two intend to escape from this alive. Looks like Cinder and Torchwick have no qualms sacrificing their allies."

 _Nor Adam,_ Blake thought, realising that Cinder or not, someone from the White Fang had authorised this mission. Judging from what she'd heard earlier, some of those sent here didn't quite realise just how `final` their mission was going to be.

"Oobleck is being kept in the same building as Torchwick, but I've got a plan to draw him away." Ciel turned to regard her – or him – and crossed her arms. "Tell me, did he ever teach you to use explosives? Do you think you'd know how to set one on the train if required?"

Using explosives to blow up a train?

It was almost nostalgic. At least this time she wouldn't be bombing a bunch of civilians.

Blake nodded.

"Good. Here's the plan…"

/-/

"Well, well, well, it looks like sleeping beauty is finally waking up."

Oobleck stirred, training kicking in and informing him that he was strapped to a chair and bound tight, even before his eyes opened for the first time. He took in the scene instantly, his being trapped in a dank and empty room. Ciel was nowhere to be seen and he could only hope she'd escaped.

There was one other in the room, of course.

"My, that's a voice I haven't heard for a while. How are you, Roman?"

"Oh, not bad," the thief said, stepping in front of him and spinning his cane on one finger. "I was in Vale minding my own business and then I was here, dealing with empty-headed animals and old friends popping in unexpected."

"I apologise. I wanted to surprise you."

"You should have RSVP'd."

"I would have, but I didn't receive the invitation."

"Fancy that. You'd almost think I didn't want you here." Roman leaned forwards and placed both hands on the armrests of the chair Oobleck was tied to. "You just can't leave well enough alone, can you, Bart? Is it something about you and this place, or is it just me?"

"What can I say, you have such a winning personality, Roman. I couldn't stay away."

"You should have." Roman stepped back and turned away. "It's somewhat fitting, isn't it? The last time we were here was so long ago. We were four back then, I recall. Four became two."

"And then became one," Oobleck said. "You abandoned your oaths."

" _You_ abandoned our team," Roman hissed, whirling on him. "You _betrayed_ them, left them, and then you were the one responsible for killing them! You _murdered_ our teammates!"

"And now you're here trying to do the same to so many innocents in Vale. Our friends must be thrilled to know our team leader is planning to kill the people they gave their lives to protec-" He cut off as Roman's fist struck his cheek, rocking him back in his seat. "Hm," he said, spitting out some blood. "I suppose I deserved that."

"You deserve worse," Roman hissed. "You _deserve_ to die."

"And what will happen to me here? Will you be the one to kill me?"

"Not at all, _old friend_. You deserve death but that won't give me or them the satisfaction they deserve. I'm going to try my hand at revealing the truth instead. How about it, you going down as everyone learns that it was _you_ who collapsed the tunnels to Mountain Glenn? Can you imagine what the people will say? So many lost friends and families, and they'll learn exactly whose fault it is."

Oobleck didn't respond. He knew full well how much everyone would hate him. "Just like you revealed how it was Vale who wanted them sealed in the first place," he said. "You made a lot of powerful enemies that day."

"The Council and your vaunted `Secret Service` were going to brush it all under the rug. So many dead, my team among them, and you expected me to let the truth of that go unknown? Ha! You may be a Doctor, but it seems your common sense is lacking. If you'd wanted that kept secret, you should have finished the job and killed me, as well."

"Perhaps I should have," Oobleck mused. He felt a long-forgotten pang deep inside. "If I'd known then what would become of you now, I might have. You've changed, old friend. You're not the man I remember."

"And you were never the man I thought you were."

Oobleck sighed. "I didn't lie to you, Roman…"

"How am I supposed to believe that? After everything you did, how am I supposed to believe a single word you say? You killed our team. You ended _thousands_ of lives that our team and many more sacrificed so much to try and save." Roman scoffed at him. "You are scum."

"And you?"

"I'm scum, too," he quipped. "Though scum of a different kind. Even in all my years doing this, I've yet to come close to your death count."

"With this plan here, you'll come close. You might even surpass mine. Is that what you want?"

"No, not really – but it's what is going to happen whether I like it or not. I have my own plans, Bart. If you taught me anything that day, it was that there's only one person I can rely on; me! Cinder, Vale, the VSS, the White Fang, Atlas, they're all just using one another for their own purposes. I couldn't care less who wins so long as me and mine profit."

"Enjoy your peace and quiet," Roman said, turning away. "We'll be moving in a few hours, and you'll have a front row seat to coming events. Once that train hits Vale, you'll be found among the wreckage. I'm sure you'll survive, but let's see the Vale quell all the information about you that'll be found alongside. Let's see you avoid the shitstorm that'll come when your crimes are revealed once and for all."

"Cinder will kill you, Roman. You know this. There's still time for you to fix this. Join us and we can bring her to justice. I'll find a way to pardon you for your crimes, I promise. It's not too late to change."

Roman stopped. He didn't turn back but his shoulders rose and fell as though he was laughing, but the sound that came from his mouth contained no humour. It was a bitter chuckle filled with barely-concealed anger.

"You say that when you came here today planning to kill me?"

Oobleck winced.

"Actions speak louder than words, _old friend_. We're relics of a time long past. The world doesn't need us anymore, and it's about time we left the stage. It's too late for either of us now."

/-/

" _Jaune, where are you exactly? You're not in danger, are you?"_

"No, of course not," he lied, speaking into his mask which was now connected through to his scroll and contacting Pyrrha. "Blake and I spotted the White Fang and backed off," he said, crouching low and glancing around a corner. There was a terrorist not twenty paces away. "You know I wouldn't risk myself like that, and Blake? Come on, she'd never be so reckless."

Except, you know, any time the White Fang were involved…

" _Right, I'm sorry I doubted you. Ren and I are en route. Do you think Ciel and Oobleck are still alive?"_

"I'm sure of it, Pyrrha. You wouldn't kill prisoners out here – not with all the Grimm around."

" _That's a morbid way of putting it,"_ Ren said in the background.

" _But a decent point,"_ Pyrrha argued, coming to his defence. _"We're not too far away. Can you put your scroll locator on?"_

"That would be a bad idea." Not least of all because it would tell them exactly where the two were, which wasn't what they were supposed to be. "Keep in mind that if they are captured, Torchwick will have their scrolls. We don't want to give ourselves away."

Pyrrha sighed. _"You're right again. We'll have to play it by ear, then. Will you try and meet up with us when we arrive?"_

"Sure." He really wasn't sure. "We'll see what happens. Don't engage the White Fang, though. We should try and think up a plan that doesn't involve rushing in."

" _I couldn't agree more. Stay safe, Jaune. We're on the way."_

The call ended, leaving Jaune with only his thoughts once more. The guard he'd been watching hadn't turned yet, too focused on keeping an eye out for the Grimm. Annoyingly, it was also in the direction he knew Pyrrha and Ren would be coming from, and lax or not the White Fang weren't idiots. They'd set up a clever killing ground that would give them fantastic view of anything that dared approach from this angle. They expected Grimm, but he was sure they'd take out a huntsman and huntress if they had the chance.

He couldn't run the risk of Roman being alerted, even if he was probably expecting them already. If a few guards went missing, it would alert the White Fang, but they wouldn't necessarily assume it was intruders. This whole area was Grimm-infested, after all. But to do that, he would have to kill these guards. He couldn't just knock them out.

 _Then again, knocking out is killing in a place like this. Leaving them defenceless on the floor is as good as feeding them to the Grimm._ His face twisted at the thought. It would be a mercy to kill them quickly but saying and doing were two different things.

 _You've killed before,_ he reminded himself. The warehouse, the White Fang – and even Mercury in a sense. But none of those had been by him and with his full intent. Mercury had been killed by Oobleck, and even if he'd been involved in killing all those White Fang, it had been more by accident than design.

But if he didn't take that plunge here, he'd be putting his friends – and Vale – in danger. Morality be damned, it would be the height of selfishness to place everyone he loved in danger just so he could sit on his high horse. With a heavy heart and a sharp breath, he slipped a thin dagger from the back of his armour.

The neck, the face, the triangle of death, through the ribs, a kidney, an artery or any one of sixteen other spots Oobleck had taught him would kill. He was grateful for the mask that concealed his heavy breathing as he approached the unaware terrorist.

And he was also grateful for the mask that his tears from view as he wrapped an arm around the man's throat from behind, locking a hand over his mouth, and drove the dagger in and up through his back. The faunus squirmed and buckled wildly, hissing and whining past the glove clamped over his lips. Jaune dragged him down, wishing he could look away as he did the deed.

The woman – for it was a female faunus – almost seemed to stare through the mask and into his eyes as she died. There was a horrifying moment where the light seemed to fade from hers; the body becoming still.

He wanted to be sick.

He dragged the body over the edge of the building and dropped it into the wasteland below, instead. That would handle the evidence, if any Grimm that wandered by wouldn't do it for him. Now… now… there were other sentries to deal with. The path had to be clear for Pyrrha and Ren. Only then could they launch a surprise attack to reach Oobleck.

"For the people of Vale," he whispered, hoping the mantra would calm him. It didn't. "For my friends. For Beacon. For everyone I don't want to see killed…"

He would become a killer.

 _Please don't hate me, Ruby._

* * *

 **Well, this took two weeks to come out technically. Yes, my relationship between Oobleck and Roman is Couerverse canon only – there's nothing in canon to support it, but I just liked the idea in Professor Arc of them being connected and went with this. And, of course, we end on something of a poignant note from Jaune. Whether or not he realises it, he's becoming more and more alike to Oobleck.**

 **But will people forgive him that? Is history repeating with Blake and Jaune destined to split and become the next Oobleck and Roman?**

 **Is there a point where protecting a Kingdom, or country, requires _too much_ sacrifice?**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 15** **th** **April**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	36. Chapter 36

**Here we are.**

* * *

 **Cover Art:** Kegi Springfield

 **Chapter 36**

* * *

Pyrrha and Ren approached the location, slipping from shadow to shadow as they approached.

"This is the place?" Pyrrha asked.

"According to Jaune's instructions, yes."

"Shouldn't we have been challenged by now? We haven't even seen a single sentry."

"Well, perhaps that's luck on our parts." Ren wasn't so certain but left the thought there and scanned the buildings around them. Broken and abandoned, any would have been a prime spot for an ambush or guard, and yet there were none. "Perhaps they have something else in mind. I only hope they haven't discovered Jaune and Blake."

Pyrrha's heart skipped a beat. "Surely not. We'd have heard something if-"

A loud explosion shook the ground beneath them. A plume of smoke spiralled up from ahead, pooling around cracked tarmac before it found its way out and up into the sky. The two teammates spared a look for the other, before they dashed forward.

/-/

Jaune ducked low when the explosion went off. He'd known it was coming, forewarned by Blake, but the ferocity of it still shocked him, especially when it bucked outwards and tossed the last carriage high into the air. It landed with a crash, exploding again as the dust inside ignited and bathing the area in fire. Several members of the White Fang screamed and rolled around, trying to put it out. Yet more watched in shock and horror.

"We're under attack!" Roman bellowed, appearing from a nearby building. "Move it, you stupid animals. Get the train ready – and keep your guard up."

"B-But the remaining dust," one dared to protest.

Roman rounded on him and snarled. "Forget it! We don't have time. Load the train!" he shouted. "We're moving ahead of schedule!"

Ahead, hm? Jaune leaned over the edge of the building and watched the train, which several people were now quickly rushing toward, last crates in hand. If it was going anywhere, he wanted to be on it and quickly. Wasting not a moment, he hurried to the edge of the building and hopped off it, sailing through the air toward solid ground. Ten or so metres before it he fired his grapple back, striking through brickwork to haul him aside and bring him slamming to a halt against the building, suspended five metres from the ground. He detached it with another press, falling the remaining distance and landing with a grunt.

The White Fang were in a frenzy now and weren't paying as much attention as they ought to have been. They expected an attack from outwards and so were left unaware when he half-staggered, half-ran toward the train. It wasn't moving and he made his way down the tracks, finding a carriage at least halfway down with a hatch open and crawling into it.

Rolling onto his back, he pushed a button on his mask. "Blake, you there?"

" _I'm in the compound. The bomb on the train went off-"_

"I have eyes. Where are you now?"

" _I'm watching the building where Oobleck is kept. Ciel is assaulting the Paladin; she says she can pilot it. We're going to split Torchwick in two. If he goes to stop Ciel, she'll retreat and I can rescue Oobleck. If he stays with Oobleck, he loses the Paladin."_

"Good plan," he said, knowing it was Ciel's. "Don't risk yourself against Roman if you can help it – and keep an eye out for our teammates. That explosion is going to draw Grimm, so they need to be on the train before it leaves."

" _I'll call them now and explain. I've nothing better to do."_

The call ended and Jaune trusted Blake to it, standing up and limping his way toward the carriage in front. The engine began to whirr and hiss as the metal beast came to life, slowly at first, and without moving. It wouldn't be long before it departed, and he wanted to find the driver before then and deal with them. It couldn't be Roman if he was already occupied.

If he could stop the train here, then Vale would be safe – or at least mostly safe. The Grimm would still have access to the tunnel, but that would be a sporadic and easily contained thing. The real problem was if the bombs below Vale went off, splitting the ground in two and spilling Grimm everywhere.

The first two carriages were empty of life; stacked boxes and crates filled them, either with dust or something else. It was the third he reached that held something more, though still no White Fang. It was instead filled with strange exoskeleton robots, almost like miniature Paladins but far smaller. Was this how the White Fang intended to survive the impact? These suits might give them the defence they needed.

He spared a thought to destroying them, before he shook his head and moved on. He had one explosive worked into his suit and that was his self-destruct. Other than that, he'd have to rely on randomly cutting wires, and while that might help a little it would be trial and error, not to mention a waste of time.

" _Damn it,"_ Blake cursed, her voice flickering to life inside his mask. _"Torchwick chose to stick with Oobleck. He's dragging him toward the train. What should I do?"_

"Is Oobleck okay?"

" _Alive, but roughed up and heavily restrained. I doubt he can fight."_

"Follow but don't interfere." He couldn't afford to lose Blake here too. "If Ciel gets the Paladin, she'll be fine even if she has to stay in Mountain Glenn. Focus on finding Pyrrha and Ren."

" _They're already here,"_ Blake reported. _"They're heading for the train. I told them we were already on board."_

Jaune nodded, and then realised she couldn't see it. "Right. You might want to get on board yourself. Ditch the outfit and meet up with them. Explain the situation, and see if you can't diffuse the bombs that have been set."

" _We won't be able to communicate if I lose the helmet."_

"It'll be fine. Trust me on this."

There was a moment of silence before she responded. _"I trust you. Okay. We'll catch up with you soon."_

Good girl, Blake. Jaune smiled and pushed ahead. The outfits could be removed fairly quickly, it being in their design, and Blake could slip back in with Pyrrha and Ren without any difficulty. It would also make sense from Ciel's point of view, since she assumed he'd laid the bomb on the train. He could just say he'd come back once Roman focused on the Director.

The door ahead of him opened before he reached it. He was presented with three white masks, behind which eyes widened comically.

Jaune was moving before they had a chance to respond. He caught the first woman under the sternum and drove a fist upwards. She gasped and buckled, and Jaune moved on, catching the wrist of the second man who tried to stab him. Pulling back and along, he drove the man's sword into the third's stomach. While they were distracted, he lashed out with the hilt of a dagger, slamming it into the back of the man's neck. He fell poleaxed while the third slumped back against the wall, grasping his friend's sword that had killed him.

The woman whirled on him and snarled, drawing her weapon. The small horns on her head prominently displayed. "Damn human, I'll kill you!"

"No," Jaune said, stepping past the first shot. The handgun bucked in the enclosed space, splashing bright light across his black mask and creating a demonic visage. His hand settled on hers, crushing bone and twisting the gun out of her hand, even as she squeezed off a second shot.

She gasped and fell back once he took it from her. In a panic, she rushed for an alarm on the wall of the train and reached out for it.

A gunshot echoed. Her body slammed against the wall. She tried her hardest to press it, but her weak fingers couldn't smash through the glass case. She slid down the metal, leaving a trail of blood behind.

"I'm afraid you won't," he finished, tossing the gun atop her body. He moved on quickly, leaving two dead and one unconscious. Even if he wished it could be three of the latter, he didn't have the time or skill for it.

Gunshots echoed behind and in the distance. It must have been the fight between the White Fang and his team, which he could only trust they were winning. Either way, it masked his own gunshots but he didn't have the time to wait. Roman was on the train, and almost certainly making his way to the front, prisoner in tow.

He couldn't let the thief beat him there.

/-/

"Blake!" Pyrrha called happily the moment she leapt out of a second-floor window. She landed easily, training kicking in where catlike faunus instinct didn't. Dashing across the open ground, she pressed her back to Ren's and flashed a smile to Pyrrha.

"Good to see you."

"Yourself as well," Ren replied, firing off shots where he could. "Where's Jaune?"

"On the train. It's loaded with explosives and destined for Vale." She paused for their gasps, deflecting an attack from a White Fang terrorist at the same moment. "Torchwick took Doctor Oobleck onto the train as well. We need to get on there."

Ren nodded. "And Ciel?"

A second explosion provided the answer, as a large, white robotic monstrosity burst from the remains of a ruined building, one hand pointed toward the sky. Like a vampire from a cheap horror flick, it pulled itself from the building and onto its feet. Pyrrha and Ren started, turning their weapons towards it, but they were left shocked when its gaze roamed over them and it instead opened fire on a building filled with terrorists.

"I think Ciel's fine," Blake quipped.

"That's her!? How the hell does she know how to pilot that thing?"

"Atlas training, I guess. Or dumb luck. We don't have the time; we need to get on that train before it leaves or we'll be stuck here." And the train had already begun to move, slowly for now, but it would pick up speed as it accelerated. "Ciel will be fine out here in that thing. I doubt there's a single Grimm that can challenge her. But if we're stuck here ourselves…"

"We understand," Ren said. "Also, Jaune will need us if he's on there alone with Torchwick."

Blake cursed. She hadn't even considered that. The train wouldn't leave much room for him to hide, and once Jaune reached the first car, he'd have nowhere to go. Another blast rent the air as the Paladin's shoulders opened up, revealing rows of propelled grenades that rained down on the path between them and the train.

"Ciel's clearing the way," Blake realised. "Hurry, while she's buying us time!"

The three of them dashed across the open space, holding their auras tight to ward off any stray bullets which rained down on them from nearby buildings. Those soon stopped as miniguns raked across the windows. The train had started to pick up speed and those left behind, barring the one with a military mech, would be doomed. It horrified her to know how willing Torchwick, and the other White Fang on the train, were willing to go.

But there was no time for grief. Blake pushed her legs harder, reaching the tracks as the train pulled away. With a grunt, she hurled Gambol Shroud forward, catching it onto the railing on the back. Leaving Pyrrha and Ren behind, she hurled herself forward and onto it, before she tied the ribbon tighter and tossed her weapon back.

Ren and Pyrrha caught on quickly, literally in fact, as they pulled themselves up the ribbon and toward the train, which had finally started to pick up speed and pull away.

"Thanks," Pyrrha gasped, accepting Blake's help to get over the railing. "That was close."

"Too close," Ren echoed, panting for breath. He looked back towards the tunnel entrance disappearing behind; not just to Ciel, but also the White Fang doomed to die – for some Grimm had already started to enter. "Do you think Ciel will be okay?"

"Right now, she's safer than us."

Ciel Soleil was also a professional. She knew what she was doing, and what she'd gotten into. Considering the size of the tunnel, she'd probably never expected to fit the thing through anyway. It was supposed to be loaded onto the train in a compact manner first.

"We need to move on," she said, pushing the carriage door open and stepping inside. Crates and containers faced them. "These are all filled with dust stolen from Vale and there's an explosive on the roof. It'll go off in Vale, cracking the ground and creating huge holes for the Grimm to come through."

"Can we diffuse the bombs?" Ren asked.

Blake sighed. "I don't know, but it's worth a shot."

Pyrrha provided them a way onto the ceiling, stabbing her spear through several points to weaken the frame above, and then using her Semblance to peel it down, creating a large hole and something of a stairway up. Ren crawled up first but ducked his head at the top as a bullet pinged off the metal.

"White Fang," he said casually, standing back up and firing back. "They're on the roof heading towards us."

"That's persistent of them," Pyrrha noted.

"Suicidal, more like. Blake, can you get up here and keep them busy?"

Blake nodded and scurried up Ren's back, leaping over his head when he fired a few more shots to give her cover. She landed on the thin roof, hair whipping back as the wind took her. There was enough room between the train and the ceiling above to stand, though the force of their speed made it precarious.

Drawing Gambol Shroud and wishing she still had the VSS uniform, Blake opened fire, pinning their opponents so that Pyrrha and Ren could get up. She advanced as she did, closing the distance.

"Blake, duck!"

She did so, trusting Pyrrha instantly and being rewarded as a huge chunk of metal sailed above. It fell among the White Fang with a horrendous clang, startling them for a moment and knocking some back. It was soon whipped off the side of the train and away, bouncing off the walls like the most dangerous bouncy-ball alive.

Still, it distracted the White Fang long enough for her to close the distance. They only had a chance to cry out a warning before she was on them, driving an elbow into the face of one and ducking low, sweeping the legs from another. Too close to open fire without risking injuring an ally, they tried to close on her. In doing so, they vastly overestimated how far `fanaticism` could get one against cold, hard training. She tore through half of them before Pyrrha and Ren caught up, and the moment they did the remaining ones were dispatched.

Some fell from the train, Blake being unable to stop them as they were knocked back, tripped or just slipped off when she knocked their feet from under them. She did her best to ignore their screams, even as she knew their deaths would be painful ones. Anyone who fell from the train now would be lucky to die on impact. Those that survived awaited a far worse fate, as the sounds of Grimm behind indicated they were in hot pursuit.

"I've found it," Ren called from ahead. He was knelt by a small compartment he'd opened, inside of which lay an odd tube-shaped device with wires, dust containers and a blinking red light. "There's no timer, of if there is I can't see it. Blake, do you have any idea how to disarm it?"

"Not unless there's an off button…"

They could cut the wires or try to remove the dust – which was surely the fuel for the explosion – but there was no telling how successful that would be. If they made a single mistake, they'd be in trouble. "We should decouple the car," she said. "If we let it fall behind then it won't catch us."

"Or we can do this," Pyrrha interrupted. She pointed both hands down at the device and growled. There was a popping and grating noise as it pulled free of the carriage almost of its own volition. The beeping device hovered in the air for a second, before she tossed her arms back and sent it spiralling down the tunnel.

When the bomb impacted the concrete, it exploded. The flames licked the walls and darkened them, but the damage was fairly light. Some Grimm were slain, but that was all.

"Huh, that was surprisingly easy," Ren said.

"Almost too east," Blake said. "We should-" A loud clunk echoed around them. It was followed by a bump as their carriage shook, and then slowly began to pull away from the one in front. "They've cut the cars!" she realised. "Run!"

They were close to the next already and able to reach it with a huge leap, rolling on the metal and coming to a stop. Blake pushed herself up in time to watch the car behind roll over and tip, grating on the floor and spinning to a stop.

And then, nothing…

It just sat there.

"The bomb was meant to ignite that carriage!" Ren said, eyes wide. "The dust inside was to make the explosion bigger, probably enough to tear the tunnels apart from the inside."

Of course! The carriages were the payload, the bomb itself nothing more than the ignition. That meant if they were able to get the bombs off each car and set them off early by throwing them off the train that the dust itself wouldn't be set off!

"We need to remove all the bombs," she hissed. "Hurry!"

"And Jaune…?"

"He'll be fine – at least finer than he will be if the whole tunnel collapses on us." And he'd asked her to trust him, which she would. He was a better man than Adam. "Come on, move!"

/-/

"Torchwick, it's about—Wait, you're not Torchwick!"

"Sorry to disappoint," Jaune said. He realised they couldn't hear him the moment he closed the distance, but at that point it was too late to go back and re-do his dramatic entrance. The White Fang opened fire on him at close range, but the bullets pinged off his coat as he swept it before him, throwing it at them. A canister caught in the centre of it erupted a second later, belching out thick smoke that obscured vision and clogged their throats, leaving many of them to cough and splutter.

His mask protected him, filtering out the bad air as he dove among them. One gloved hand caught the barrel of a rifle, tugging it aside and toward an ally as the one wielding it kept the stream of bullets firing. His other clutched a knife, which he buried into an indistinct shape in the mist.

"Thermal," he whispered, watching his vision wash over red. Crimson shapes, brightly lit, appeared before him, many struggling to push away the smoke. Kicking up the rifle of the downed man before him, Jaune caught it and opened fire.

Some of them didn't even have aura. He hadn't realised at first, and in the end it wouldn't have made much difference. Instant death or slow death, perhaps those who fell early were the real winners. Spent, he tossed the gun aside, stepping past a survivor groaning on the floor. The door ahead was sealed and shut, far thicker than the ones before.

The front of the train; he'd finally reached it. This car was armoured, probably intended to be the final thing which survived the explosions when the Grimm hit, giving Torchwick a chance to escape safely. He tested the door and cursed. It wouldn't open.

He also heard someone inside and judging from the heavy breathing they'd heard the gunfire outside. Convincing them to open the door wasn't going to happen.

 _But there's more than one way through this._ He knelt by the control panel and considered it. The thing was simple, with both a code lock with digits and also a slot for an ID card. The writing on it suggested it was one or the other, but both weren't needed. Bringing out his scroll, the VSS one that Oobleck had given him, he held it against the device and tapped a button. The back magnetised, sticking it to the thing as another app opened and began to whirl through numbers.

Reaching to his hip, Jaune drew Crocea Mors and prepared himself. He readied his shield before him, wondering what his father would say if he could see him now, not only armed, but dressed in full black with a full-face mask.

Well, he'd probably demand to know what had happened to his son and where this bastard had taken him. It wasn't like he could be recognised, even by someone who knew him so well. He'd changed, and not just recently.

The scroll beeped once, and the door opened with a click. The moment it shifted, a gun went off. The bullet pinged off his shield, followed by four more as the driver unloaded wildly on him. Jaune held his ground, blocking each until the faunus' weapon ran dry with an audible click. The terrorist whimpered and reached for another clip. His body was shaking. It stopped when it slumped to the ground, dead.

Jaune flicked the blood free from his weapon, shifted his shield back into a sheathe, and stored them away once more. He moved to the control panel, looking at it hesitantly. He had no idea how to control this thing and no number of gadgets would teach him.

"If I stop the train, this Grimm will catch us in the tunnels. If I let it keep going, we'll hit Vale…" A set of screens caught his eye and he moved over, realising they were cameras set back through the vehicle. Some showed the rooms he'd been through, proving that the driver had watched his death coming. Another showed Torchwick dragging Oobleck through a carriage, the Director's hands secured behind his back.

But another showed a view of the top of the train – right as Pyrrha used her Semblance to cast an explosive back into the tunnel.

"Perfect," he breathed. "Good work, Blake."

If the train was bereft of explosives, then the impact in Vale would be minor – and if they stopped the train there, whether by his own control or force meeting immovable object, then they'd only have to retreat a few hundred metres to reach safety. The Grimm might still follow, but so long as there wasn't a gaping hole cut into the city, they could be held off.

Pulling out his personal scroll, he called Blake.

" _Jaune?"_ she answered.

"I'm at the control panel for the train," he said. "I can see you guys through the cameras. Good job on the explosives but there are loads more down the train."

" _I know; we're working our way down."_

"No, you don't understand. Some of the later ones are _inside_ the train cars themselves. Pyrrha isn't going to be able to throw those out, not unless she's strong enough to lift the whole thing." He wouldn't have put it past her, but there just wasn't the time. "I can detach some of the cars though and let them drift back – if you can all get further ahead."

" _What good will that do?"_

"If we stagger it, we can make it so only the one car at a time goes up rather than a chain reaction." He checked the cameras again and cursed. "Look, I don't have time to explain. Torchwick is on his way here and I kind of need some support."

Blake, on the screen, nodded. _"We'll be there soon. Just hold on."_

The call ended, and he went back to the controls, checking Roman once more before he flicked through the car couplings, which were luckily somewhat self-explanatory. Using the security feeds to identify which cars were filled with dust, he noted them down and prepared himself.

A sudden ringing echoed in his mask.

A call? He answered it.

"Who is-"

" _Rat, it's Magician_!"

"Ma-"

" _You're close enough to Vale for me to reach you,"_ she interrupted. _"Very close and moving closer at speed! What's going on?"_

"I'm on a train set up by Torchwick," he summarised. "It's filled with explosives and designed to go off under Vale, spilling Grimm into the streets." He ignored Magician's gas and pushed on. "We're getting rid of the explosives back down the tunnel to make the blast smaller, but there's still a chance there will be a little one. We need support in Vale."

" _I'll get on that now. Is there anything-"_ Magician's voice wavered and blurred, replaced with static for a moment as she was twisted away.

"Magician? Magician!?"

" _Agent Rat,"_ a new voice spoke.

"Who is this?"

" _Agent Rat, Director Oobleck is indisposed as per your report, correct?"_

"It is," he said, realising that this had to be someone pretty high up in the VSS to have reached him like this, and to have been told by Magician what he'd earlier reported. "Look, I was just telling Magician that we need teams on hand in case this thing impacts."

" _We have listened to your message, Agent. Crisis teams will be dispatched."_

Jaune breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

" _That said, with the Director indisposed it falls now on us to conduct and orchestrate this mission. Mountain Glenn was a disaster that threatened to destabilise and destroy Vale once. This cannot be allowed to happen a second time."_

"You think I don't know that? What do you think I'm doing here?"

" _Your actions do you honour, and your anger is forgiven,"_ the person said. _"You are in control of the vehicle, correct?"_

"I'm in the lead car, yes."

" _Tell me what you see – and what you have done thus far."_

Recognising that the person wanted to give him instructions, Jaune filled him in as best he could, explaining that his team were dispatching of the explosives while being careful to make it clear they were doing that under the impression he was a huntsman, not an Agent of the VSS. He kept Blake's name out of it entirely.

"We're hoping if we get rid of enough explosives, we can make the final impact smaller," he finished. "We'll still hit Vale, but we'll make it there safely and the crisis teams can seal the breach, if there is one."

" _Any breach signifies a risk to the city, Agent. The Grimm that follow you could overwhelm the teams."_

"The Grimm that are following us will be lessened by the explosions we're throwing back."

" _I see."_ The man was silent for a while. _"Agent, do you see a central lever toward the base of the car, close to where the driver might sit?"_

Jaune looked around and quickly spotted it. "Yeah, it's black with a red handle and a lever on the side. There are two others near it, smaller and pushed forward."

" _Ignore those two for now. Sit in the seat and grasp the tallest lever, the one which should at this point be angled upwards, toward the ceiling."_

"It is," he replied, sitting down.

" _Good. Grasp it with one hand. You will need to pull it backwards, toward your body. There is a release catch on the lever, meaning that you will also need to grip the two levers together before you do, otherwise it will not move. It is a safety mechanism to make sure it is not activated by accident. You should feel some resistance as you do this, but not too much."_

Gripping the lever and being sure to reach out with his fingers to pull the catch against it, he drew back as instructed. The train lurched suddenly, and an ear-piercing screech reached his ears. The sudden change in momentum tossed him forwards – making him release the lever. The sound stopped, and the train started moving once more.

"What the hell was that?" he snapped.

" _You are picking up speed, Agent. I did not instruct you to stop."_

"You tried to make me pull the brakes!" he realised. "Are you insane? This thing is covered in bombs and dust! My team is on this!"

" _If the payload reaches Vale, the damage would be catastrophic. However, if the train cars were bunched up and ignited at once, the force would collapse and seal the tunnels,"_ the man explained, like he hadn't just tried to kill Jaune. _"This would protect the city and ensure no Grimm can approach."_

"It would also kill me!"

" _You are an Agent of the VSS, Rat. You should know well the sacrifices that might be demanded of you."_

"But the Director is here-"

" _He knows them better than any."_

"My team!"

" _Huntsmen die for the Kingdoms. Their loss would be an unfortunate one, but necessary."_

Anger coursed through him. Jaune threw himself away from the lever with a snarl and gripped Crocea Mors, not that it did him any good. This man, this bastard, had just tried to make him _kill_ his team. And for what?

For Vale…?

Would he be willing to die for Vale? He didn't know. Most of Vale was an unknown he was willing to risk his life for, but not throw it away over. When it came to protecting, it was his friends that came to mind. Ruby, Blake, Pyrrha, Ren and everyone else. He wanted to stop Cinder so that they would be safe.

"I'm not sacrificing my team for this," he hissed.

" _Consider your situation, Rat. We cannot prepare the city in time for this disaster and the results could well kill hundreds, even thousands. Our Crisis Teams will not be able to contain the damage, as they were unable to when Mountain Glenn first fell. No one here wishes to make this call, myself least of all, but it must be done. The tunnels must be sealed as they were so long ago."_

"Back when Oobleck first did it, you mean."

The man hesitated, though only for a moment. _"Yes."_

"And who was it that ordered that?" he asked.

" _Not I, if that is what you believe. It was a time before mine. Director Oobleck, a mere Agent at that point, was in position to shoulder the horrible task. He did what was needed; he did what was right. He was willing to make this sacrifice – as should you be. Those who don the mask must be prepared to die."_

Prepared to die? Vanguard had been. Oobleck certainly was. Even Ciel seemed prepared.

This would save the city…

And all he had to do was pull a lever. No one would really know what he'd done down here, nor how many people had been saved, but they would still be alive to carry on their days in bliss, ignorant of the sacrifices made beneath their feet.

"This must have been what Oobleck felt…"

" _Agent?"_

"Oobleck made the choice to sacrifice his team for the safety of Vale," he said. "Roman couldn't accept it when he found out the truth and rebelled. He exposed the Council's actions, dragged their name through the mud and then dedicated his life to causing them trouble. He did all of it in an attempt for revenge."

" _It was impossible to predict all of that, and it does not change that Director Oobleck made the correct decision in the circumstances. Civilians, huntsmen, soldiers, all were protected by his hand. He became a hero."_

He had.

Funny, hadn't _he_ wanted to be a hero once, as well? Wasn't that the reason – deep inside – that he'd wanted to join Beacon? Oobleck had called it selfish wish fulfilment, and it really had been. He'd been weak, unskilled and unprepared. All he'd have really found would be a quick and pointless death, followed by a letter to his parents which would leave them all in grief. Gods, he'd been such an idiot.

" _Rat, you are approaching Vale. We need to stop that train!"_

"I'm not Oobleck."

" _What?"_

"I'm not Oobleck," he repeated, leaning back in the seat. A weight lifted from his shoulders. "I can't do it. I won't do it."

" _You… have you gone mad?"_

Jaune laughed. "Maybe. I'm sorry, but I won't stop the train. Have the crisis teams ready for us."

" _I would have them ready for you with words like that! Do you realise what you suggest right now? You are considering treason, Rat. You are a part of the VSS. You cannot reject this order."_

"Then I guess this is my resignation."

" _One does not leave us so easily… I am encouraging you now to reconsider."_

The threat was clear, and really there was nothing he could do to stop it. If the VSS wanted him dead, then they had ample opportunity for it. They knew where he lived, after all. They knew everything there was to know about him.

But still, he couldn't do it.

He couldn't kill his teammates.

 _Would you hate me for this, Vanguard? Or would you understand?_

Cardin didn't answer, but for some reason he couldn't imagine the gruff man trying to kill him. Not when he'd been willing to give his own life to protect him against Mercury. "I'm sorry," he finally said. "But my decision is final. I'll do what I can to lessen the explosion, but we're going to hit Vale. As for the VSS, I guess I quit."

" _I will give you one final chance to reconsider, Agent. We have other means of stopping that train, and you on board of it. Stop the train. Die as a hero, not a traitor."_

"I'd rather not die at all."

" _I'm afraid that is not an option."_ The man sighed, and then spoke again in a clear voice. _"Designation 1641. Codename: Rat. Initiate Arc Protocols. Time; ten seconds."_

The words echoed in his mind. Cardin's face flashed before his. Ha, Oobleck had never taught him how to use this, but he couldn't remember Cardin's final words even if he'd tried. Leaning back in the seat, Jaune closed his eyes.

" _The explosion will destroy the control panel and stop the train,"_ the man said. _"I apologise, Agent Arc, but your sacrifice is necessary. For the people of Vale."_ the man shouted, ending the call.

"For the people of Vale," Jaune toasted.

Many miles away in Beacon – a rocket locker exploded in a gout of flame.

Closer, in the control room of a train hurtling toward Vale, Jaune Arc stood and removed his mask. He stamped down on it, shattering it into pieces. It wasn't his, after all, but one of a dead Agent picked up in Mountain Glenn. Looking back to the control panel, and the brake lever, he snarled and swung his sword, shearing it off at the base and locking the train onto its forward course.

* * *

 **Welp. That happened! I'm sure this won't have consequences upon consequences, but what can our boy do? Giving your life to save people you don't know is so easy to say, but so hard to do in practice. Many of those in the VSS, as shown with Cardin, are trained and indoctrinated at a young age, so they're more likely to agree to it.**

 **Jaune, though? Well, he's a teenager. He's flawed.**

 **Now it's time for Oobleck and Roman.**

 **Next time, anyway.**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 22** **nd** **April**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	37. Chapter 37

**Here we are.**

* * *

 **Cover Art:** Kegi Springfield

 **Chapter 37**

* * *

Ruby grumbled and answered her scroll, ignoring Weiss' sleepy call to throw it out the window. "Mnf," she said, yawning. "Hello?"

" _Ruby! I need – you – bzz – help."_

"Jaune?" He sounded worried and angry, and from his voice he was shouting to be heard past some mechanical noise she couldn't quite make out. There was static in the call too, cutting his words off at odd moments. Even so, she'd caught one word – help – and instantly woken up. "Jaune, what is it? What's wrong?"

" _Glenn – coming through the – Vale. Need you – respond. Everyone."_

"Jaune, I can't hear what you're saying," Ruby shouted, raising her own voice so he could hear her better. Yang and Nora were startled awake, though both remained silent at the tense look on Ruby's face. "What's wrong? Where are you? Why do you need help?"

On the blurred and flickering screen she caught Jaune's scowl once he realised the messages weren't getting through properly. She could only make out a grey background, some flashing lights, and what looked to be Jaune's shoulders encased in a strange black outfit.

" _No – can't – time."_

"I can't hear you properly!"

" _Grimm!"_ Jaune shouted. _"Vale. Grimm. Va - imm. Va – Grimm. Vale. Gri-"_

The scroll cut off suddenly. In the end, Jaune had chosen to say only two words, repeating them over and over in the hopes she'd understand. Ruby didn't, not fully, but she had enough of an idea to make her feel sick. The other members of her team looked worried, too.

"Grimm and Vale," Yang whispered. "I don't like the sound of that."

Neither did Ruby. She rose from her bed.

"I think we need to talk to Ozpin."

/-/

Jaune scowled when the call ended but saw there was no signal and nothing he could do. He stashed it away and hoped Ruby had gotten enough of the message to understand. Now bereft of support from the VSS, who for the meanwhile thought him dead, he had to think outside the box. Ruby was the best he could come up with.

A quick look at the screens showed Roman and Oobleck further through the cars, along with a small retinue of White Fang that would prove a challenge even to him. If only he could cut their cars and leave them behind, but he couldn't do that to Oobleck and his own team was behind them, further down the train and dealing with the bombs.

He couldn't even tell them to stop or prevent those cars de-coupling, since ignition or not, several tonnes of dust _slamming_ into Vale was bound to be set off. Team ABRN _had_ to defuse each bomb in turn and then decouple the cars so that the dust harmlessly came to rest in the tunnels. The VSS would probably come and clear it out later, assuming they weren't busy trying to kill him once they realised he was still alive.

 _The VSS won't even matter if I die here. My only chance is to save Oobleck and hope he can pull out a miracle._ And that, sadly enough, was going to require him to slow down Torchwick. If the thief got to the controls he'd cut the back cars and leave Team ABRN stranded with the Grimm. Jaune needed to slow them down and quickly, since there was a chance they might try to push past and take control if he fought them here.

Torchwick against him was bad odds even before the White Fang were brought into it, not to mention the enclosed space and the possibility of Neo being around. He couldn't fight them alone, at least in a fair fight.

Well, it was a good job he wasn't interested in a fair fight.

/-/

Oobleck's eyes took in the interior of the train as he was led through it, White Fang behind with weapons drawn to keep him moving forward, and Roman ahead, leading the small group. They were in the tunnels connecting Mountain Glenn to Vale, the place where it had all begun.

"It's just like old times," Roman quipped. "I can feel the nostalgia even now. It makes me remember them, our teammates, when I'm like this. Can you remember them, Bart? Do you remember them?"

Bartholomew Oobleck didn't respond.

"Neither have I. There wasn't a night that went by where I didn't remember them," Roman said. "Ah, those were simpler times. Just the four of us terrorising Beacon, despised and respected in equal measure. Everyone there knew not to mess with us." He shook his head. "Whatever happened to that, Bart?"

He didn't answer.

"Oh right, now I remember. You killed them. You collapsed the tunnels on their heads while they were protecting civilians. They were crushing in front of our eyes, reaching out as if asking us to help them." Roman's cane clicked down on the metal floor and he took a deep, audible breath. He faced away but it was impossible not to imagine how angry he looked. "Good times, Bart. Good times."

The teacher turned his head away, looking down toward the metal plates under their feet. The guilt he wore was obvious, though not enough for Roman, who chose to prod just a little further.

"Once the train hits and tears a chasm through Vale, the tunnels will be opened once more and the Grimm will run rampant. Of course I'm sure everyone will be able to stop them in time and seal this place back up, but not before you're discovered. Do you think your pals will try and keep you safe, even after people ask just why you were found at the epicentre of the disaster? I don't. I think they'll throw you to the wolves the first chance they get."

"Ha, and look at me – telling you my plan in advance like some kind of two-bit villain. I always laughed at idiots like that, but you know what, when it's personal, sometimes you've just got to do it." Roman turned back and glared at him. "This just wouldn't be worth the effort if you didn't know what was going to happen to you. It's the suspense that makes it better."

The White Fang behind roughly pushed him along, ignorant of his tightly bound wrists or the pained look on his face.

"Well, there's not much now to do but wait until it hits and-" Roman glanced ahead, to the door to the next compartment which a White Fang grunt was already reaching towards. His eyes widened. "Wait, don't touch it!"

Too late. The faunus placed a single hand on the door, before he went rigid and gasped, vibrating for a moment before he was blasted away with a loud _crack_. His back impacted the wall of the train and he slumped to the base. If the lack of movement wasn't any indication he wasn't getting up, the blood pouring from the eyeholes of his mask was.

"What the hell was that?" the faunus who had been beside the unfortunate other gasped, backing away from the door.

"Well, unless the door _bit him_ , I'd say it was booby-trapped," Roman said, voice thick with sarcasm. He strode forward and used his cane to push the grunt aside. "Up there," he said, nodding. "You see those wires pulled from the ceiling and touching the door? I'd wager there's something attached to the other end. Heh, lucky I wasn't the poor bastard to try and open it."

"He's dead!" one of the others gasped, touching his friend's throat. "That door killed Frank!"

"Yes, and I'm sure the door will rue the day it challenged the White Fang," Roman said, rolling his eyes. "Spread out, idiots. The door is trapped from this side, which means out little friend is in here with us. Or above." He looked to a wiry and thin wolf faunus. "You, climb out the window and check the roof."

"M-Me? What do I do if someone is up there?"

"Scream out before you're inevitably killed. It'll at least give us a warning."

The unfortunate volunteer looked to his friends for help, hoping one of them would stand up with him against the very dangerous criminal. His friends, who had worked with him for months, all avoided eye contact. With a fretful whimper he made his way over to the window, teasing it open and letting the sound outside in, the rushing of the tracks and the wind.

There was decent clearance between the train and the tunnel wall, several feet in fact. The faunus placed one foot on the window sill and poked his body out, prepared to clamber up the side of the vehicle.

A pneumatic `pop` and a whistle sounded from outside. Blood splashed onto the windows and the faunus slumped out, falling onto the tracks and being swept away. He never made a sound. Roman casually drew out his cigar case, placed one in his mouth and lit it. He took a deep breath and then let it go, blowing out some smoke.

"So," he said. "I don't know about you lot, but I'm going to take that as a `yes, someone is out here` kind of thing. No scream though, so hey-" Roman grinned, "-maybe I'm overthinking it."

No one dared speak lest they be chosen.

"No? Fine, then I guess you're all on board with us _not_ being picked off one by one. That's good. Now stick with me and do _exactly_ what I say. Perry-"

"My name is Banesaw," the large faunus growled.

Yeah, sure, because someone had a kid and called him _that_. "Alright, Banesaw, I need you to stick here and not let anyone get by. These lot-" He shook Oobleck for emphasis, "-like to attack from behind where they can. If those brats catch up, slow them down."

"Hmph, I'll kill them myself."

Roman wasn't so sure, nor so confident in the brute's skills. "That would be nice. Anyway, back up from that door please. I'm about to give you a lesson how to deal with sensitive electrical equipment."

His cane came up.

The metal door exploded away, propelled down the car ahead until it crashed into a container and came to rest with an ear-splitting clanging sound. The wires that had once run a current through it hung from the ceiling.

"Mind your head," Roman said, hauling Oobleck in front of him and pushing him through the door first. "Looks like your little protégé is making daddy proud," he hissed. "Talk about an annoying brat. VSS sure knows how to pick them."

Oobleck chuckled silently.

"Then again, maybe crushing dreams and spirits is a hobby of theirs. How many kids have been turned into emotionless machines, eh? Wonder if any of them bit the dust for it recently."

The laughter stopped immediately.

The next car along looked untouched on first inspection, though he was hardly about to trust that after what just happened. As the White Fang nervously crowded in behind him, he let his eyes wander over the floor, noticing the tell-tale patches where someone had walked, disturbing the dust that had fallen from numerous crates.

"M-Maybe there's nothing here," one of the faunus behind him whispered.

Roman rolled his eyes. "Yeah sure, and maybe it was all just a freak accident or a particularly inquisitive rat. Don't be idiots. If you think it's safe, you can feel free to walk through it."

The faunus didn't move.

"That's what I thought." Roman frowned. The element of surprise was gone after the door, so it wasn't likely there would be any more traps designed to spring at the first sight of someone. After all, the kid knew he could just push his hostage forward and be done with it.

So, remote or user-operated ones, then. Dangerous enough, but it meant the kid would need to be close enough to see them. The control room was out of the question – too distant – but that didn't mean there weren't other means. His eyes scanned the corner above him and quickly found the tiny lens. His cane spun a pirouette for a moment before he jabbed it up, crushing the tiny camera.

"Nice try kid, but you'll have to do better than that."

As if in answer, a metal ball tinkled down from the ceiling and rolled towards them.

The White Fang ducked and dove, but Roman simply held an arm over his face and clenched his eyes shut, knowing it couldn't be anything too explosive for the sake of not harming the hostage. True to form, the object exploded into bright white light, echoing a terrific bang that seemed to shake the car itself. Blinded and disoriented, Roman still had the sense to aim Melodic Cudgel upwards, towards the ceiling, and pull the trigger.

The brat had to be up there or it wouldn't have made sense to booby-trap the windows. An explosion of dust carved a hole in the thin sheet-metal ceiling, exposing rushing wind and wires above. Roman fired three more shots for good measure, each impacting in a different spot and tearing through the roof.

"Come out, come out Jaune. I know you're there – and you know we had a deal." He ignored the way Oobleck's eyes widened. "You're on my side, remember? There's no reason to hide away. I still need you to deal with Cinder, after all. I'm hardly going to kill you here."

The roof above and behind him cracked inwards with a muffled explosion – and Roman only had the time to gasp as a black shape swung down through the hole, impacting both feet on his chest. He was thrown back down the car.

"Forgive me if I don't take the chance," Jaune yelled, unmasked for once. With all the White Fang down to avoid the explosion, he flicked out a knife and crouched low, cutting Oobleck's bonds and freeing the huntsman. "I'll explain what he said later," he hissed to Oobleck. "I promise."

"Tch." Roman gritted his teeth and stood slowly, cracking his neck with one hand. "Cute, kid. Real cute."

"Give it up, Roman. The White Fang can't hold up against huntsman. It's as good as two against one."

Roman cocked an eyebrow. "Is it?"

A sharp blade tickled the underside of Jaune's chin from behind.

`Oobleck` stuck his tongue out and winked.

/-/

Another explosion ripped through the tunnel behind them, scattering Grimm in every direction. The tell-tale ka-chunk and shake of the car told them they were still ahead of schedule, even as they sprinted and leapt onto the next one. That made four now, and they'd prevented each one from tearing holes in the tunnel walls.

"These White Fang just keep on coming," Pyrrha gasped as they were challenged yet again. "Don't you realise if you fight us here, you'll be caught if the car explodes?" Her question was posed to the deer faunus she was fighting, who showed no regards for her safety and snarled back.

"They're fanatics," Blake called, the word sour in her mouth. They were the worst of what joined the White Fang; those who for which equality and justice meant little. It was anger and hatred that fuelled them on a never-ending campaign to make humans suffer for the sake of it.

Adam had despised them once, but it appeared he now saw their value. It was just another sign of how far her mentor and old lover had fallen.

"The fanatics don't care about who or how many die, even themselves. There's no reasoning with them." She backhanded another, knocking them off the train and to their inevitable death. "Keep fighting and keep moving. They're crazy, but they're not strong."

Ren and Pyrrha proved that much as they nodded and tore through the combatants, disarming and disabling them with every blow. Pyrrha's Semblance made short work of four, tossing them aside as the three students made their way to the next carriage.

"We're approaching the front of the train," Ren said. "They can't keep having explosives here or there won't be any left for Vale." He looked about the tunnel and frowned. "If we're not already in Vale as it is. It's impossible to tell."

"There will be a final payload," Blake guessed. She wished Jaune would respond to her messages but didn't dare try and bother him. "Those miniature Paladins we faced earlier were probably meant to be used by the White Fang to survive an impact, so there must be some final explosive car – one bigger than all the others. It might even be the front and the engine itself."

"We'll need to find Jaune, then."

Blake nodded. Having reached the cars that had opened to disgorge Paladins onto the rooftop earlier, they slipped down and through the hatches, into now empty cars. It was nice to be inside where the wind wasn't constantly whipping their hair around but there was no time to waste and they hurried on.

It didn't take long for them to start to see evidence that something had passed through before them. Some faunus were slumped at the side, unconscious, while others were clearly dead.

"What do you think happened here?" Pyrrha asked, not pausing in their sprint.

"Jaune," Blake replied.

"What? Could Jaune really do all this? It's not that I doubt his skill," Pyrrha added, though she had every right to. "It's just… could he really kill people?"

 _You'd be surprised,_ Blake thought. Knowing she couldn't say that however, she made up a quick excuse. "He probably didn't. Some of them are knocked out and I imagine that was his handiwork. The others look to have been killed by guns, which Jaune doesn't have."

Pyrrha made a sound of understanding. Friendly fire, while rare with trained people, was a very real possibility in the close confines of the train, and with terrorists who felt they had nothing to lose. Either way, it told them they were catching up. Jaune had to be further ahead, and hopefully Oobleck would be with him. Blake was the first to the door ahead, yanking it open and charging through.

Straight into the whirling teeth of a chainsaw.

There was no time to dodge or process it – just a gasp as she saw death approach and a desperate attempt to throw all her aura in the way. She needn't have worried, however. Pyrrha cried out and the chainsaw's mechanism split in two, torn asunder by the force of her Semblance.

The blades still struck home, knocking Blake back, but it was a weak and clumsy strike and she rolled with the impact, wincing several feet away and nodding her thanks to her teammate.

Before them stood a giant of a man, easily seven feet tall and rippling with muscle. Blake didn't recognise him, at least not from her time in the White Fang, but it was easy to see the flicker of aura about his body.

"Be careful," Ren said. "This one is dangerous." His eyes flickered ahead, and he frowned. "The two of you go on. I'll deal with him."

"Ren!" Pyrrha gasped.

Blake frowned, too. Ren didn't strike her as the type for machismo last stands or foolish nonsense, however, so she asked him, "Can you take him?"

"He's lost his primary weapon. I can deal with him, but it'll take time. Time Jaune might not have."

"Alright." She skirted around, tapping Pyrrha's arm and nodding for her to follow. "Catch up with us when you can - and be careful."

"When am I anything but?"

Good point. She'd trust him; he'd never done anything to make them doubt him, and the faunus before them was down his dangerous weapon thanks to Pyrrha. Blake rushed by, ducking under a meaty arm that tried to stop her. Ren charged in behind, engaging the faunus and keeping him distracted.

There was no time to lose.

/-/

"Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in. I bet you really thought you had me, didn't you?" Roman laughed. "Talk about arrogant."

Jaune's fury smouldered but there was nothing he could do, not with Neo holding a blade against his throat and the White Fang collecting themselves after their shock. He'd had such limited options that causing a distraction and rescuing Oobleck had been the only option.

Looked like Roman realised that.

"Where is Oobleck?" Jaune asked.

"Wouldn't you like to know." Roman turned to the faunus about them. "You lot go back and support Banesaw; see that this one's friends don't make it to us." He watched them go, hurrying out of the room. Once they were gone, he sighed. "Well, that ought to keep your friends busy for a minute or two. Can't expect much more from this lot, but it'll do."

"You won't get away with this, Roman."

"Won't I? Cut the dramatics, kid, this isn't a movie. Bad people get away with stuff all the time and the good suffer for it. Far as I can see, I'm already on top here." His smile fell. "Still, you had a chance to stop the train and end all of this. I'm surprised you didn't take the chance… or that those bastards didn't order you to."

"They did," he answered. "I refused."

"You-?" Roman laughed, hands clutched to his stomach. "Oh kid, I don't know whether to thank you or cry." His mirth faded quickly, replaced by a grimace. "But you made the choice he couldn't. At least for that I'll give you my respect."

"I don't need it."

"Maybe not but take it anyway. If you were him, your team would be dead already." Roman cocked his head as the sound of combat echoed through the train. "Neo, go back and hold them up, won't you? I can handle `John` on my own."

The blade on his jugular flicked away and the girl nodded, back in her normal visage. She slipped away, turning invisible, and the door behind opened and closed on its own. He prayed Blake would remember what her Semblance was and act accordingly. There was little else he could do. His hands were free now, but Roman was before him and ready for any movement.

"Was this your trick all along?" he asked. "You made it sound like we'd be working together against Cinder, when all you wanted was to betray me."

"I warned you I would, didn't I? But no, this isn't a trick – at least not as you see it. I still do want to move against that bitch and I still need you for that. Thing is, I've got unsettled business with Oobleck. Dirty stuff," he admitted, "but something I can't leave be."

"I'm not letting you kill him."

"Let me? Kid, you can't stop me." Roman didn't smile. If he had, Jaune would have lost it then and there. "Do you think he's your friend, that he cares about you? Don't be an idiot, kid. That man turned on his own teammates of three years, best friends and people he spent all his time with. There's a very strict order when it comes to Bart. Vale, the VSS, and then everyone else. You might be fortunate enough to fall into the middle one rather than the latter, but you'll still be thrown aside when the city is in danger. If it was him at the front of the train, we'd all be dead already."

There was little denying that and Jaune knew it. The VSS had ordered him to do it, and almost any other Agent would have. It was cruel, disgustingly so, but he knew that _he_ was the anomaly here, not Oobleck.

Roman's face fell. "There's no convincing you, is there? Even now that you've gone against them – and they'll never forgive you for that, you know – even now, you're going to stand against me. We could work together. I've brought them low once and I intend to do it again."

"Is this the part where you ask me to join you and that together we can take down Vale?" he asked sarcastically. "Because if so, the answer is no."

"Kid, be reasonable."

"I can't be," he admitted. "Everything you say makes sense and I know I'll be in a lot of danger back in Beacon." Magician was still there after all, and probably loyal to the VSS, not to mention however many other agents they had. "But I became a huntsman because I wanted to do good…"

His face fell.

"No, that's not right. That's what I told myself, but it's not the truth." He sighed. "I became a huntsman because I wanted to feel proud. I wanted respect and maybe in a way, without ever realising it, I wanted to be able to respect myself."

Because no matter how much his family loved him, he'd never felt like he deserved any of it, like he had anything worth liking. Shy, awkward, weak… and none of that really mattered, but back then, as stupid as he'd been, it felt like it did.

What an idiot he'd been.

"I was selfish, and maybe I still am, but I don't think I could look myself in the mirror if I joined you here, Roman. I'm sorry."

"And you'd be willing to die for that?" Roman asked.

"I… I don't know." Death seemed so final, so frightening. And he was a coward inside, he knew. "But I'm doing it right now, so maybe I am."

Actions spoke louder than words. Even if he doubted himself, he couldn't doubt what he was doing right now, could he?

"Sorry, Roman. I've made my choice."

/-/

Blake rolled under the silvery blade, avoiding it by a few millimetres. It followed her, seeking flesh, but Pyrrha caught it on her own and drove the diminutive girl back. "Go on without me," Pyrrha yelled. "Find Jaune and help him against Torchwick. I'll hold her off."

"She's dangerous," Blake warned.

Pyrrha flashed a smile. "So am I."

"Her Semblance is illusions," she called, earning a disgusted look from Neo. "She can turn invisible, make you believe you're seeing things that aren't there and slip away instantly. Watch out for that."

Pyrrha nodded and filed the information away, taking a more cautious approach. Even so, she cut Neo off from the door she'd attacked from, giving Blake a chance to push on for Torchwick and Jaune. She took it with only a moment's hesitation. Pyrrha would be fine; she had to be. Jaune would not.

Several White Fang awaited her in the next car. Blake growled and dove into them, lashing out left and right with reckless abandon. They were so unprepared for her blistering assault that two fell almost immediately. Panic set in and they opened fire. Blake summoned two clones and used those to distract, slipping by and under a rifle, cutting the man's wrists so that he dropped it, and then hurling him into the back of one of his friends.

"Traitor!" one howled, no doubt recognising her. "You're a Belladonna. You were supposed to be loyal!"

"I am loyal," she replied. "It's you who changed." She cracked his skull against a wall and left him to slump to its base. The last dared to face her still, though he shook violently.

"Stay back! S-Stay back!"

He opened fire when she moved forward. Blake slipped around the clumsy shots and slapped his weapon from his hands. Gambol Shroud's ribbon wrapped about the man's neck, threatening to choke him, and she kicked the back of his knees to bring him to his. One hand gripped his hair as she leaned down.

"Where is Torchwick?"

"A-Ahead," he panted. "He's ahead."

"And Jaune?" When that brought no recognition, she frowned. "A blonde human, where is he?"

"W-With Torchwick."

Damn it, not good. She was about to knock him out when another thought occurred to her. "Where is the prisoner you took before, the huntsman from Beacon?"

"H-He's in the main cargo car," the terrorist whimpered. It meant nothing to her, a fact which he quickly realised. "It's back the way you came from – four or five cars back, the one filled with containers and crates."

Blake recognised it. They'd been through there earlier but seen nothing, certainly not Oobleck. "You lie."

"No, no, no, I swear. He was choked out and stuffed into a locker. H-He has a bomb on him!"

The final bomb – the payload. Blake slammed a fist into the back of his neck and pushed him down, looking back once to the path she'd come and where Oobleck lay. He'd be back past both Pyrrha and Ren, not to mention their fights. Did she push back through them all to try and save Oobleck? That would mean leaving Jaune ahead with Roman Torchwick.

She bit her lip until it almost bled.

In the end, she realised it wasn't her decision to make. With a heavy heart, she pushed on, crashing through the door and into the next. Before her stood Jaune and Torchwick, the latter in a position of power, stood before Jaune. She saw Jaune's lack of a mask and didn't know what to make of it. When she saw Torchwick with weapon in hand, however, such thoughts fled entirely. He saw her come in and cursed.

"Tch, I guess there's only so much Neo can do on her own." He ducked back when Blake squeezed off a shot, and that miniscule opening allowed Jaune to leap back as well to stand beside her.

"Thanks," he whispered, and then raised his voice to Torchwick. "You're outnumbered, Roman. Surrender and we can still end this."

"Oh, and you'll promise me a fair trial, is that it? Face it, kid, you'll be killed by the VSS the moment this train hits. We both will."

Blake's eyes widened. "Jaune, what does he mean?"

"I'll explain later," he promised. "Just… things are complicated."

"Ha, is that so?" Roman laughed, having overheard. "No, no, I think this should be out on the open. Secrets can break a team, after all. What the kid means, little lady, is that the VSS ordered him to collapse the tunnel and bury you all – just like they did so long ago."

"W-What?" Blake glanced to Jaune, hoping he would disagree.

He didn't.

"Of course, Oobleck took that order and ran with it – killing my team, but your boy here? Oh, he chose you over them." Torchwick's teeth clenched together. "If only that bastard could have made the same call."

Blake had no idea what to think. The realisation that they'd come so close to death without even realising it shook her, and while Jaune's refusal to do it – and she'd known he would – calmed her a little, it didn't do much compared to the knowledge that the VSS would do it in the first place. She'd become a huntress to avoid this kind of stuff, not to dive back in.

"Question is, will you make the same decision twice? The two of you have me dead to rights. Give it your best shot and you might take me down. Of course, that'll not do much for dear old Barty-boy, now, will it?"

Blake gasped. "Oobleck is being kept back in one of the earlier cars," she hissed. "He's become the bomb that'll set off the whole train."

Jaune tensed.

Roman laughed.

"Well, there you have it, kiddo. Fight me, kill me, or try to save your superior." He swung his cane down to lean on it, for all intents and purposes content to leave the decision in their hands. "It's your call here. If you leave me be, I'll personally make sure this train hits Vale, and then I'll escape and bring down the VSS myself. Of course, I'll also take down Cinder, so you have that going for you. On the other hand, kill me here and avoid that, but take your own chances with the VSS. Oh, and Bart dies, of course."

The decision, if one could call it that, was impossible. Blake kept her mouth shut, knowing it wasn't hers to make. She did nudge her elbow against Jaune's however, hoping it would let him know she was with him no matter what.

"You're a monster, Roman," Jaune spat.

"I don't deny it, kid. But I wasn't born this way. Your kind made me what I am. It's decision time, though. Tick-tock, tick-tock."

Jaune snarled and turned, running away. Blake spared one final glare for Torchwick, which was answered with a wide smirk, before she too turned and left. They'd have their vengeance another day, but right now it was important to make sure the amount of vengeance required didn't grow any bigger.

/-/

Glynda shuffled awkwardly as she stood outside in the early morning air, alongside Team RYWN, several others from older years, and also the headmaster and her other colleagues. Even James was there, determined to offer his assistance alongside his men. They stood before the plaza the headmaster seemed certain would be the point of disaster – if the message Miss Rose received was as bad as it sounded.

To be fair, the girl been frightened enough to convince him, and there wasn't much of a way to misconstrue the Arc boy's communications.

"Are you sure this will happen, Ozpin?"

"I'm neither sure nor confident, but I am willing to take the risk," he replied. "Team ABRN were sent to Mountain Glenn for the express purpose of discovering why the White Fang had an interest in it. The possibility of Grimm being led to Vale is a very real one, and one we cannot ignore. This was once the terminal to Mountain Glenn." He indicated the plaza, which had now been cemented over, with not a sign of what had once laid here.

There was not even a memorial for those lost; the city preferred to forget its mistakes.

"If they are to come from anywhere, it will be here. Unless, of course, the White Fang have dug entirely new tunnels – which I highly doubt."

Indeed, they had the element of surprise, or should have had, so the effort required to construct an entirely new route would have been wasted. Glynda saw Team RYWN adjusting their weapons, Ruby Rose looking everywhere she could to catch sight of any threat. Glynda knew from the dance that the girl had some connection to Mr Arc, and prayed for her sake that the team were safe and well.

In the distance, Glynda caught the sound of rumbling – like thunder, and yet beneath the ground.

"It's coming," Ozpin said. He raised his voice. "Everyone, prepare for impact – and remember, our goal is to _seal_ the breach, not to exterminate all the Grimm. Hold your ground and look after your teammates."

"Sir, there are people on the rooftops…"

"I see them, Glynda," the headmaster replied. "And I know them."

"Friends?" she asked.

"I would not go so far as to call them that. Keep your wits about you. I've a feeling we'll need them."

The thundering wheels beneath the ground grew ever closer.

* * *

 **The impact, the culmination, the finale – of this story arc, anyway. And where is Cinder in all of this? We'll see, I suppose. We shall see. Sorry for the short chapters on this fic, but I've been hellishly busy on my weekends of late. I'm still looking after my sister's animals while her leg heals, and now my parents have gone on holiday, meaning I've had to move into their house to look after all their horses and such while they are gone.**

 **It's all added work and eats into what time I have available. Oh well, such is life. It's meant that this fic's chapters have become a little smaller, making this arc take twice as long as it should (at least in terms of weeks, if not words). Not much I can do about it, sadly.**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 29** **th** **April**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	38. Chapter 38

**Well, busy weekend here – sigh. Mostly because of yesterday's out-of-sequence update that had me writing a Relic chapter last minute.**

* * *

 **Cover Art:** Kegi Springfield

 **Chapter 38**

* * *

Using the hole Roman had created in the ceiling, Blake and Jaune ran across the top of the train, dodging the battles below. They couldn't afford to be slowed, even if it meant leaving their allies to fight against their opponents alone. Pyrrha and Ren could look after themselves; they had to trust them.

What grated more was allowing Roman to escape, though there would always be more chances to catch him. There wouldn't be another chance to save Oobleck if they'd chosen otherwise.

Up ahead, several cars down, a loud _ker-chunk_ sounded, and yet another of the carriages slowly started to pull away toward the pursuing Grimm. There were so few of those left now, heralding their proximity to Vale and the end of their journey.

"He has to be in one of these," Blake said, stamping a foot down on the car they were atop for emphasis.

"You check here, I'll take the next," Jaune decided. "Shout me if you find anything."

Blake didn't want time nodding but instead hurried to the edge of the train and swung down, smashing through the window below with her feet. Jaune ran to the next, leapt down the gap between the cars, and pulled open the door, stepping in. A long car full of crates and boxes faced him, but there was no sign of a person among them.

There hadn't been on his first way through, or he'd have seen it. That meant Roman either lied – unlikely, given that he'd been through the whole train without seeing Oobleck – or that he'd been stashed _into_ one of the crates.

 _Roman's plan looks to be to frame Oobleck. With that in mind, it wouldn't matter if he was locked in a crate or not, since once it all goes up the crate would be destroyed._ It was a horrible end for the man but that was probably Roman's purpose.

Jaune left some of the boxes that were too small and hurried instead to the larger ones, using his sword as a crowbar to try and break them open. The metal flexed and bent but held strong. The first crate was filled with smaller ones – each stacked on the other. The second held compartments of vials and canisters. The third just had a few sacks of dust. Jaune tossed them all aside, frustration mounting as more and more time was wasted.

"Jaune!" Blake cried. "He's here!"

Finally! Jaune dropped the crate he was working on and ran back through the door, _ramming_ his shoulder into the next and crashing into the car. "Oobleck, I-" His voice cut off. "O-Oobleck…"

Director Bartholomew Oobleck smiled back at him, lips and chin stained with blood. He had one hand over a hole in his stomach, through which blood slipped between his fingers. "Jaune," he panted, voice hoarse. "It… It is good to see you safe."

"No, no, no. Oobleck, I-" Jaune swallowed and looked the man over. He looked bad. Real bad. "I'll get you out of here. Blake, get him ready for movement. We'll have to carry him up top."

"Don't," Oobleck said, halting Blake with one hand. "Leave me be, Miss Belladonna. That is my instruction to you as your professor. Roman was nothing if not thorough," he said, eyes closing for a brief moment of pain. "My aura dwindles but it remains for now. He wanted it to."

"Then we can still get you to safety!" Jaune said. "If you can hold on, we can find help."

"I've been hooked up to a bomb." Oobleck said blankly, with a remarkable lack of fear or pain. Jaune showed enough of it for the both, shaking. "The mechanism works on an aura reader, just like the ones you have on your scrolls. If my aura drops to nothing, it will explode, taking this whole car with it. Of course, it will also explode if I, or it, are disconnected from the explosive."

Oobleck tapped the bomb next to him, which had a screen on that showed his aura, hovering somewhere around twenty per cent or so. The device was secured to the bomb, which was secured to the floor of the train. It wouldn't be possible to move all at once, and a single mistake would kill them all.

"Can we defuse it?" Jaune asked.

"I doubt either of us has the experience, and I know we don't have time. We are minutes from Vale, if that. Right now, I spell doom for everyone. The impact will kill or disconnect me, rupturing the streets and pouring Grimm out to slaughter all who stand in their path." He said it all with such calm, more than either Jaune or Blake could show. "There is no time to waste and little option. I take it that because we are all still here, you could not go ahead with your directive."

"W-What?"

"The tunnels. You did not destroy them."

Jaune swallowed. He wasn't sure if he should have felt ashamed or not, but Oobleck's expression gave nothing away. There was no judgment there. "You knew?"

"No, but I know how we work. I know it is what would be ordered of you. But they stand still. You could not bring yourself to do it."

"I… I couldn't."

Oobleck's eyes drifted shut. "Then you did what I could not."

"The VSS tried to kill me," he whispered. "They activated my self-destruct. I… I think I've cut ties with them now."

"I see. I won't reprimand you on this as it's your choice. Just… be careful. They will not move against you so obviously, but do not make the mistake of believing that they would ignore you. Never let your guard down." Oobleck's eyes opened once more and drifted to Blake. "Keep Miss Belladonna close, as well. Keep all your friends close."

Blake cringed. "Sir, I-"

"I know that you know about me, my dear. I have for a while. I realised Jaune's secret had been found out weeks ago." He laughed, or tried to, but it came out as a rattling cough. "I deliberated on what to do about it for a long time. I considered drawing you aside one by one on this mission to discuss why you had chosen to become a huntsman or huntress. I was going to kill you and blame it on the Grimm."

Blake swallowed.

"But when the time came, I could not. Being back in Beacon, if only for a short time, reminded me too much of _them_. It reminded me of why I fell in love with the life of a huntsman in the first place. You reminded me of it all, too," he added, looking to Jaune. "An Agent warring between loyalty to the organisation and to his team. I realised that if I removed her, you would never forgive me, nor the VSS, nor Vale. I… I could not create another Roman." Oobleck sighed. "Not a second time."

Jaune remained silent. In truth, he had no idea what he would have done, but anger would have been involved. Would he go as far as Roman had? It was hard to say. He wanted to say no, but at the same time he wouldn't have been able to let Blake's murder go.

"You were different from me, Jaune. You _are_ different. Not quite as clouded, not as deep into what we are. Seeing you, training you, was like looking back into my own past. What I saw there disappointed me, and yet you continued to make the decisions I could not. Not out of loyalty to the VSS, but out of fear, out of cowardice. I sacrificed my team for myself and lost my best friend. I… I am relieved that you did not."

Tears clouded his vision. This felt too much like a final moment, and he realised with a sudden clarity that it was. There was no time to fix this and no opportunity for anyone capable of defusing this to find them.

This was it. This was the last time they would ever see the other.

"O-Oobleck, I—I…"

"There's no time for words, Rat, as much as we might both wish otherwise. My death will be recorded soon and the VSS will remove my access to their systems within twelve hours. I need you to reach my office, my desk, and access the hidden compartment beneath it. You will know my password when you see it. Access the systems, find your files, and erase them. It will not erase the memory of you, but it will afford you some protection."

"Talk to Ciel," he added, teeth gritted. "Explain to her the situation, and my decision. She holds no loyalty to the VSS but does to me and may also to you. At the very least, she has no reason to turn on you. Magician is an option, but she will be watched. There are others-" He coughed suddenly, hand over one mouth. It came away stained with blood. "There are others, but I don't have the time. Trust your friends, trust in one another, and Miss Belladonna, look after him and your team."

"I will," Blake promised.

"And Jaune," Oobleck added, catching his hand. "Do one thing for me."

"Anything," he hissed. "Anything at all."

"Don't go after Roman for this."

"What!? But he-"

"Roman wasn't always like this, not even close. He was a very different man. He was a friend, a team leader, and someone who loved us dearly. We were his pride and joy. If there is anyone who made him who he is today, it was me. I don't want more revenge to come of this. Focus-" He coughed. "Focus on Cinder Fall. Stop her. Protect Vale but do so because you want to protect your friends, not because of duty." Oobleck smiled suddenly. "Do you know why I called you Rat?"

Jaune's eyes watered. "I always thought it was a joke…"

"Rats are social and loyal creatures who look after their own. They are misunderstood and often considered pests. They are small, weak, and considered by most to be insignificant – but you would be a fool to underestimate one, for they have the potential to bring civilisation to its knees. And nothing can fight harder than a cornered rat. You'll need to be all these things."

Just like him, with none of the advantages of anyone else in the VSS, yet somehow still fighting. "I understand. I'm proud of the name."

"And I'm proud of you, Rat. Go now. Uncouple the car. I will seal the tunnels one final time. It will be my penance."

He hesitated and Oobleck noticed, pushing him away.

"Go. There's no time to waste. Look after one another and do not forget what I have told you. Erase your profile from the VSS or you will never have a moment's peace. Leave this life behind. Become a huntsman. Become whatever it is you want to be."

Blake tugged on Jaune's shoulders, drawing him back. "We have to go…"

They did. Jaune's eyes watered and his breath came out with great difficulty, but with both of them watching him, Blake sympathetically, Oobleck with a firm resolve, Jaune forced himself to stand. "I'll stop Cinder," he promised. "I'll make sure Beacon stands."

Oobleck smiled. "Thank you."

"No. Thank you – for training and helping me for so long."

"Farwell, Jaune. Farewell, Miss Belladonna."

The tears finally came out as he turned away.

/-/

Oobleck watched them go with a long sigh.

Perhaps the next generation would do better, but before he left – there was still one, final thing to do. He'd sealed the tunnels once, sealed them and his teammates to certain death. Now, they'd been opened once more, invalidating that sacrifice. Such would not do.

As the coupling that connected the cars was cut by his protégé and the car began to pull away, Oobleck took a final breath and gripped the aura sensor connected to him.

"Good luck, Jaune. It's all on you now."

And crushed it with a snap.

/-/

The heat from the explosion licked at Jaune and Blake's faces, bathing them in a ruddy orange glow. The explosion tore through the walls around them, killing Grimm and causing the stone to fall from the walls and ceiling, slowly filling the tunnel once more and sealing it shut. Although some Grimm remained and had pushed through, the tide had been stemmed, for now.

"He was a good man," Blake said.

"He didn't seem to think so. He blamed himself."

"The best always do. They can't accept the good they do because they demand more of themselves. I'll admit, I don't agree with the choice he made all the way back then, but it's easy to say that here. I've no idea what it was like."

"None us do. Hopefully, we never will."

She eyed him. "I'm glad you didn't make the same choice."

"He was my mentor," Jaune whispered, eyes filled with tears. "I respected him. I… He was almost like a second father."

Blake touched his arm. "Judging from how he was willing to give you the means to break away from the VSS, I'd say he felt the same way. His actions speak for him, Jaune."

Jaune sighed. "Come on. We need to find Ren and Pyrrha before-" A loud honk cut them off – sounded from the front of the train. "What the hell? Was that Torchwick? What's he honking…"

Up ahead, maybe four hundred metres or so and approaching fast, the tunnel came to an immediate stop. It was just a stone wall with rubble piled on this side, and the tracks ran straight into it. With the speed of the train, there were mere seconds to impact.

Blake gasped.

Jaune grabbed her by the shoulders and dragged them both down into the space between two cars, huddling together as the train's wheels _shrieked_ their way towards its final destination. "Hold on!" he screamed, hoping Pyrrha and Ren would somehow hear him.

Even if they didn't, they couldn't have missed the impact.

/-/

The sudden _crack_ of the ground in front of them bursting outward was deafening. Ruby shrieked, as did almost everyone else there – not from fright, but from the sheer _pain_ the volume caused as it happened in front of them. The ground gave way, falling outward as the nose of some giant beast tore through, quickly revealed to be steel and smoke as the head of a train blew out and upwards.

It was followed by the body, like a King Taijitu erupting from the ground. It coiled upwards until its momentum came to a halt, at which point it swayed ominously, before it crashed down, splitting the ground and throwing everyone from their feet.

Yang caught her before she could hit her head on something, but even that didn't do much for how dizzy she felt. They'd had prior warning _and_ they'd been some distance away, but all the huntsmen and huntresses from Beacon were scattered about in a state of shock. Luckily, the teachers were not.

"Glynda, move to seal the breach. Port, support her. All students prepare for Grimm!" Ozpin barked.

"Here." Yang pushed Crescent Rose back into Ruby's hand and helped her up. It took her a second to shake her head and collect her wits, but she answered with a quick smile, transforming the scythe into its sniper form.

"Thanks."

"Grimm!" Weiss called, drawing their attention back to the train. Although none of the compartments had yet entered, a Beowolf was drawing itself up the side of it and into the light of day. It paused to hiss and snarl. Its head was raked off a moment later in a hail of fire from several students. But more came – many more.

But there were many huntsmen, too.

Had it been any other time of day, or had they not been forewarned, it might have been a disaster. Even a single Beowolf could slaughter a village of civilians and Vale was so densely populated that it would have been far worse. For people like them, however, a Beowolf was easy prey. The first five to leave the hole the train had caused were cut down without a second thought. They'd arrived not to terrified and frightened people, but line after line of warriors ready to fight.

Ruby nodded for Nora, Weiss and Yang to go in, falling to one knee herself to take better aim. Her speed wouldn't be as useful in close quarters and there were too many people. It would be just like initiation where she'd gotten in Weiss' way. Better to shoot from afar.

It was while she was busy supporting several students approaching the car that a shock of red caught her attention, struggling to escape from one of the cars. She scoped in on it with wide eyes.

"Pyrrha!"

Discipline forgotten, Ruby darted out from cover and toward the train, forcing several people to hold their fire, luckily for the best since they might have hit her. She reached the carriage at the same time her team did, and Pyrrha only a few seconds later.

"I-I'm okay," the redhead gasped, even if she clearly wasn't. Nicks and scrapes littered her body and some blood seeped down her forehead. "You need to find the others."

"We need to get you out of here!" Ruby countered.

"Miss Rose is correct," Ozpin said, having hurried over once he caught sight of Pyrrha. "Miss Nikos, where are your teammates?"

"On the train, sir. Further down. Blake went ahead – to try and find Jaune. Hngh." Pyrrha suddenly buckled, gripping her side. "I-It's nothing. Just winded."

Ruby didn't believe it for a second and neither did the headmaster.

"Take her to safety, Miss Rose. We shall locate the rest."

Ruby nodded but handed Pyrrha over to Yang when she caught up. It wasn't like she was strong enough to carry someone twice her height. She hurried ahead, instead, checking the cars for signs of the rest of Team ABRN. If Pyrrha could make it, so could they. It was just a fact.

A Beowolf got in her way. She cut it down without a second thought.

Where were they!?

Another moved ahead of her, but instead of going for her it tried to pry its way into one of the carriages. Ruby charged forward and dispatched it easily but hooked Crescent Rose behind her and worked to open the door. It was sealed shut, the mechanism deformed by the crash.

"Let me help," Nora offered, coming up with her hammer. She made short work of it and the frame itself, caving them inward. Dust – the mundane kind – poured out, followed by a bruised and battered figure who landed at their feet with a grunt.

"Hello Nora," Lie Ren gasped. "G-Good to see you."

"Ren, have you seen Jaune and Blake?" Ruby asked, getting in before Nora could. "We already got Pyrrha out."

"T-They should be ahead…"

"They're not. The front of the train hit first and there was no one in there."

"Then I don't know. They have to be somewhere. There were bombs-"

"Bombs!?" Nora gasped.

"We dealt with them. Or at least I think we did. They were supposed to go off when the train hit."

Ruby's eyes widened at the implications, especially as she looked at the wide, open plaza they were fighting in. If that hole was ten or twenty times larger, and if there had been civilians around, it would have been an absolute massacre.

"What about your transfer?" she asked. "Ciel?"

"Back in Mountain Glenn."

"WHAT!?"

"She's okay – it's… it's complicated. Very complicated. Just find Jaune and Blake. He went ahead to fight Torchwick on his own."

Jaune against Torchwick? Ruby patted Nora's shoulder, telling her to get Ren away, and rushed on further down the train, closer to the breach itself where Miss Goodwitch, Port and several other higher-year students were busy fighting off a much larger group of Grimm. Miss Goodwitch was using her Semblance to try and close the hole but stopped when Ruby crashed into her back.

"Wait, wait – they're still down there!"

"What? Who is?"

"Jaune and Blake," Ruby cried. "They're at the back of the train – they must be."

The blonde teacher cursed and looked ahead, to the hole where several cars were still stuck into and through. Only about four fifths of the train had actually burst through before the lack of momentum halted the rest. If Jaune and Blake were still down there, they'd be sealed away with the Grimm. If they weren't dead already.

"Stay here!" Glynda ordered. She ran over to Port, hissed something into his ear, and the two rushed over to the breach, fighting their way inside.

For Ruby, back up on the surface, it was all she could do to bite her lip and join the melee, holding the gap Miss Goodwitch's absence had created. Her team caught up with her soon after, Nora and Yang having dropped off the injured and come back to support her.

The amount of Grimm coming from the hole grew smaller and smaller – and she was sure it was more than just them being distracted by Miss Goodwitch and Port. The actual _sounds_ of Grimm underground had lessened.

And then, with a mighty cry, Peter Port breasted the hole once more, one arm down to support himself on the tarmac, the other gripping an unconscious body in black, with golden hair. There was another on his back, Blake's arms wrapped loosely around his neck as she clung on.

"Hold on, lass," the round professor growled. "A little help here, students? I'm perhaps not as fit as I used to be."

Relief, shock and awe. It manifested in a panicky laugh as she hurried forward to help. Others beat her to it, taking the two students and carrying them away so that Port could haul himself out alone, covered in scratches but boasting a large smile. He was followed quickly by Miss Goodwitch, whose only sign of injury was ruffled hair and a _furious_ scowl.

Ruby arrived in time to see her kneel by Jaune and Blake, the former unconscious but the latter holding on – if barely. "Miss Belladonna, can you hear me?"

"I-I can…"

"Your teammates are safe, but I need to know where Doctor Oobleck is. We haven't yet found him."

It was frightening how quickly Blake's expression – normally so unreadable – went from sheer relief to crushing pain. "He's gone," she whispered. "He sacrificed himself to seal the tunnels, to slow down the Grimm and stop this being worse."

Miss Goodwitch froze. "He-? You're certain!?"

"I'm sorry."

"I see. He… I…" The teacher's eyes closed. "He will not be forgotten for this. Miss Rose, please see them safely to their teammates. I must remain here and close this breach once and for all." Glynda strode away, face hidden from view as she weaved her weapon in the air.

That left Ruby and her team with Blake and Jaune, the latter of which she noticed was wearing unusual clothing. It was an odd combination of a black coat with all-black clothing underneath and a high collar.

She reached for it, but Blake caught her wrist. "R-Ruby…"

"Blake? What's wrong?"

The girl was fevered and obviously badly hurt, bruised and bleeding. Her head swayed as if she were about to slip out of consciousness, but before she did she fixed Ruby with a firm glare. "Don't let them take him."

The seriousness of the words made her listen. "Who? Who is taking whom?"

"Jaune," Blake hissed. "Don't – ah – don't let _them_ take him. He… he has to stay. Beacon. Don't let-" Blake cut off with a hiss, sharply bitten away by gritted teeth. She tried to speak again but slumped. Yang caught her.

"Sheesh, they've had a real working over," she said. "We should get them to the others. They need treatment."

Ruby nodded, looking back as the final pieces of the train were cut loose, some falling back into the hold and some being drawn out. With the breach itself cleared of debris, Miss Goodwitch had begun to seal it shut once more. They'd done it. They'd repelled the Grimm. Even if the ones responsible for it were still out there. It was a start, at least.

Pyrrha and Ren weren't being treated when they arrived, but several Bullheads from Beacon had landed nearby. Ruby and her team arrived with the last two and were quickly approached by two men in brightly-coloured paramedic vests.

"Are they injured? It looks bad. Bring them onto our Bullhead and we'll ship them for treatment."

Yang and Nora nodded, moving over, but Ruby hesitated. Maybe it was paranoia or maybe it was Blake's final words, but either way she stepped between the Bullhead with the open door and her teammates.

"You're taking them back to Beacon?" she asked.

"To the hospital," the first man replied. "We've been called in to offer support where we can. We can't fight, but we can help ferry the wounded to and fro."

Behind her, Yang asked "Ruby, what's wrong?"

Ruby didn't answer. She fixed the man with a frown. "Why would they go to the hospital instead of Beacon? We don't know if they're _that_ badly hurt, and Miss Goodwitch told us to see them to the other injured."

"For treatment, little miss. We're trying to offer that."

"Then why are Pyrrha and Ren still over there?" Ruby pointed to where the two were laid, now unconscious like Blake and Jaune. "They've been there for a while and you haven't taken them away."

"Ruby has a point," Weiss said, stepping forward. "Also, I don't see any hospital markings on those Bullheads, and why use Bullheads anyway? Apart from this street, the roads are clear. Why not use an ambulance?"

"We're fast response. This is an emergency."

Weiss crossed her arms. "You still haven't answered why our other friends weren't taken when they were here first."

"We'll take all of them now," he offered.

"I think you won't be taking any of them unless we see some proof of identity." Yang and Nora backtracked, pulling the two injured away. Ruby didn't draw her scythe, but her hand did fall to the handle – and to her shock, the paramedic's hand also fell to his hip.

There was no weapon there, but the fact he _reached_ for one spoke volumes.

"Is there a problem here?" Ozpin asked, strolling up. "I was under the impression I had requested all emergency services to stay back in case the attack was larger than anticipated. What are the two of you doing here?"

"Our supervisor sent us forwards," the man said.

"Did he, now?"

"We're to take your students to safety, headmaster."

"Beacon has its own medical facilities and it would be remiss of me not to see to my student's wellbeing. Tell your `supervisors` that I appreciate the offer but must politely refuse."

Where before the men had argued, here – with Ozpin – they quickly backed down. "We understand. Our apologies for overstepping ourselves. We simply wanted to help."

"It's our job," the other added, laughing.

Ruby didn't believe a word of it. She watched them go with a glare, hand still on Crescent Rose. They even _moved_ like people trained to fight, with a surety of foot that let them navigate the broken streets without once stumbling. More telling was the fact they didn't react to the Grimm still around. Even if the other huntsmen were keeping them safely out of harm's reach, civilians would still _look_. They wouldn't act like they'd seen it all before.

"Don't let them take him," Weiss mused. "I dread to think what that was supposed to mean, but I think we've just found the `who` Blake referred to."

"Or Ruby did," Nora said. "How did you know?"

"I kind of didn't," she admitted, laughing nervously. "I was just so frightened I'd have questioned anyone. But when I started thinking about it, things didn't add up. No one came to take Pyrrha or Ren off us. They came straight for Jaune and Blake. It was too sudden."

"Something is going on here," Weiss said.

"They should be safe in Beacon," Yang offered.

 _I hope so,_ Ruby thought.

Because like Weiss said, there was definitely something going on here. And she didn't like it a single bit. Once more, her eyes fell to Jaune in his strange outfit. Although she felt crushing relief to see him okay, there were questions, too.

But first they had to get them back to Beacon – and Ruby had a feeling she'd be going along with her team, just to make sure they arrived.

/-/

"The Breach didn't have the impact we were looking for."

"No matter. It achieved the desired result."

"I thought we wanted to let Grimm loose into the city? Barely any made it."

"All that matters is that the populace understand they are not as protected as they think they are. Even if no one was killed, the Grimm still made it into Vale. People's imaginations will fill in the rest." Cinder chuckled and leant back on her sofa, eyes fixed to the ceiling. "In a way, there is nothing worse than the imagination of a helpless and frightened man."

"Will Adam be assuaged with that?" Emerald asked. "A lot of his people died for this…"

"They died to make a statement and that statement has been made. If anything, the wanton slaughter of faunus by the huntsmen will only fuel his cause. He will be satisfied." Or he would have to be, for there was precious little they could do about it. "What of Roman?"

"He escaped with Neo, ma'am. I thought we wanted him captured?"

"Originally, yes. Plans have had to change thanks to our mysterious friends in black. Now, it serves us more to have him on the outside. Roman will prove to be… useful before the end."

"I don't trust him, ma'am."

"Good. You shouldn't."

Emerald nodded. "What's our next step?"

"Contact Adam and Roman and tell them I want to meet in a few days' time. And while you're at it, get in touch with John, too. I'm sure he will be interested to see what's to come." Cinder flashed Emerald a sly smirk. "You should be happy to see him again, at least."

"He's alright. Easier to put up with than Mercury ever was, but what is the plan? If you don't mind me asking, I mean."

"The Vytal Festival approaches, but before then, I think it's time we deal with a few loose ends. I'm tired of the interruptions from these people. I want them stamped out once and for all. This `VSS` must be destroyed."

And Roman had provided them the key…

/-/

A hooded figure slipped into the infirmary and checked each corner of the room. Team RYWN had finally departed, it being too late for them to remain, and the medical officer, Tsune, had been called away to report to the headmaster, creating a rare moment. The figure took advantage of it, stalking towards the four students who lay injured in their beds. All were unconscious and connected to medical instruments, with each having nutrients pumped directly into their systems. They looked weak and frail, and the white blankets pulled up to pallid faces did little to help.

Team ABRN. Jaune Arc, Blake Belladonna, Lie Ren and Pyrrha Nikos. The figure inspected each, brushing by the beds and trailing a hand on the railings as they read the nametags atop the medical files attached to each. The list of injuries and ailments were details, or so the figure assumed, but such was not their intent.

Passing the dark-haired boy and the redhead, the figure paused between the beds of the faunus and the blonde. Their hand fell to a gun, but they paused.

Instead, a small vial was drawn forth, filled with a clear liquid. Slowly, the figure moved to the drip connected to them. Each was separate but had a clear bag from which the drip fed. Locating the feed wasn't hard and only a few drops would be required.

Painless, swift, undetectable. Loose ends were always wrapped up in such a manner.

The figure reached for the machine.

"A little late for a visit, isn't it?"

The figure spun, alarmed. A black mask shone in the light and though no emotion could be seen through it, the way the figure recoiled was sign enough of their shock. Red reflected in it, though only for an instant.

" _You!"_ the masked figure hissed, voice tinny though the speakers. _"Why would-"_

A gasp.

The slip of a blade into the neck.

" _Phoe… nix…"_

And then, nothing. The figure crumpled like a puppet with its strings cut, leaving one behind, hands stained with blood. The second figured sighed and shook her head.

"This is going to come back to bite me," she said, sighing. "I hope you're worth it, Jaune. If not, I'll make you regret it. I'm not paid enough to play guardian angel." Nor to go against the chain of command. It would be treason, if anyone were alive to tell of it.

Oobleck was going to be the death of her, even from beyond the grave.

* * *

 **Well, that's a lot of things. A lot of things, indeed. We're moving toward the end of this story, though that by no means it'll be soon. I just mean we're moving into the final arc. I'd wondered for a while if I wanted to take it into the Season 4-5 territory, but I just can't bring myself to. I just didn't enjoy watching it and it doesn't grip my imagination.**

 **Anyway, we have a new player – and I'll say it again, no OC's.**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 6** **th** **May**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	39. Chapter 39

**Here we are and here we go.**

* * *

 **Cover Art:** Kegi Springfield

 **Chapter 39**

* * *

"The headmaster wants to see you."

Jaune looked up from the flimsy meal he was poking over in Beacon's infirmary towards Blake, who was sat nearby on a folding chair. Like him, she'd been put through the wringer when the train hit Vale, but _unlike him_ she was a better trained and capable combatant, and so had recovered from her injuries all too quickly.

It wasn't a great difference in time – something akin to her being fit to leave at seven and it now being ten in the evening, but it was enough to grate on his already flagging self-esteem. Well, if that could get any lower considering all the things that had happened. He wasn't sure it could.

"Did he say what it was about?"

"No." Blake shook her head. "But I expect it'll be similar to the meeting I had with him, and which Ren and Pyrrha had before. If so, there's nothing to worry about." Just an after-action report, then, or perhaps a meeting to determine whether there were any lasting effects of the mission. "You're running out of time, you know. There's only two hours left."

"Two hours?"

"Oobleck's warning," Blake said, flicking her hair back. "Remember, you need to break into his office, his terminal, and then the VSS HQ. He said you'd have twelve hours to do that. You've been locked up here for ten."

"Damn it."

"I'd have gone and done it myself, but I just don't know what to look for. Oobleck said you would know his password. I've got no chance."

"It's fine. Has Cra- has Ciel come back?"

"Not yet. Pyrrha and Ren are worried, as is most of the school, but you and I know better." Blake's smile was fragile, but she managed a short laugh. "I can't wait to see her try to explain her absence when she returns, especially _without_ the Paladin."

Jaune managed a chuckle, too. Ciel was probably off arranging for it to be returned to Atlas with a great big `mission success` waiting for her. Of course, given her cover, she'd need to return here to not give everything away, and seeing her manufacture an excuse for that would be amusing. He didn't doubt for a second she was okay, though.

He swung out of the bed and steadied his feet on the floor, testing for a moment to make sure his knees wouldn't buckle. Blake watched silently, knowing he needed to do this on his own, or perhaps just watching for her own entertainment if he flopped to the floor. Luckily, he was able to steady himself with the railing and after a few moments of slow breathing, he was able to take a few steps. His body felt numb and stiff, but every step seemed to bring a little more life to it.

"I'd best go see Ozpin, then. How are Pyrrha and Ren?"

"Safe, recovered and waiting for you. I'm more worried about Team RYWN."

"Huh?"

"They have… questions for us, or for you. Difficult questions. When we hit Vale, I was still conscious," Blake explained. "I gave them a warning not to let anyone take you, and according to Ruby someone _did_ try to take us both, and only gave up when Ozpin talked them down."

Fear wormed its way through his stomach. "You mean…?"

"They claimed they were paramedics, but nothing added up."

"Shit…"

So, the VSS were on the move already. That was faster than Oobleck had anticipated, which meant they might even have revoked his access already. If he couldn't break his details out of the VSS' servers, he'd never have a moment's peace. Worse, his family might be put in danger or held hostage.

"Did anything else happen?" he asked.

"Not that I know of."

Jaune nodded and quickly excused himself, stumbling down the hallway towards the central elevator to Ozpin's office. Some students passed him by and shot him concerned looks, but he waved them off as best he could. Yet more looked lost in their own thoughts, some even staring blankly out of windows and at walls. He had no idea whether it was the terrorist attack that had shaken them or the loss of a professor they'd all known. Perhaps it was both.

Perhaps it was all his fault. If he hadn't made a deal with Torchwick, they'd have never found out about Mountain Glenn and gone there, and Oobleck wouldn't have died. That said, if he hadn't made the deal, they'd have had no warning for this attack and it would have been far worse. If the explosives had gone off at the proper time, there would have been great chasms cut through Vale's streets, with Grimm pouring out in a range of a mile or more. There'd have been no hope of containing it without casualties and entire streets would have to be cut off and abandoned.

There was never a good answer, or not a perfect one. Jaune bit down on his guilt and accessed the elevator, drawing himself up with the push of a button. As the door dinged and opened, the man sat behind a desk looked up in surprise.

"Mr Arc? Goodness…" The headmaster stood and moved over to help him into a seat. Jaune accepted it gratefully, if a little clumsily.

"Blake told me you wanted to speak with me, sir."

"I did, but I would have come to you," Ozpin chuckled, sitting back down again. "I only meant that she arrange a time best suited for you. Did Tsune clear you to leave the infirmary?"

"Yes," he lied.

"Hm, I see." Ozpin didn't believe him. "Well, I suppose you could use a rest and my desk is as good a place as any. We can have this talk now, though I'd been hoping to save it until you were a little more rested. You – and your entire team – have had quite the trying time."

"I'm fine, sir."

"Are you?"

Jaune swallowed. In truth, he had no idea. He _felt_ fine, but a clinical part of him recognised that wasn't normal and that it was probably only a combination of shock, adrenaline and panic that kept him going. Reality would catch up soon enough, but he couldn't afford to let it get in the way now. If he did, then Oobleck's sacrifice would be worthless.

"I'm good enough," he said carefully. "I think I'd be better among my team if things take a turn for the worst."

Ozpin caught the hint and nodded. "I'll keep this brief, then. I've already spoken to your teammates so I know the basics of your mission and how it went. I'm also aware of the loss of Bartholomew Oobleck. You have my sympathies, Mr Arc. He was a great man and will not be forgotten. Even now, I am petitioning the Council for a monument in his honour to stand in the plaza where the White Fang broke through, to remind us of the sacrifice one man made to save potentially thousands of innocent lives."

A tiny smile tugged at Jaune's features at that. It was a silly thing, but he had a feeling Oobleck would have liked that. To be remembered not for the regret of what he'd done at Mountain Glenn in the past, but for his final decision, which had saved untold lives. More than that, had Roman broken open the gates to Mountain Glenn, it would have made the death of Oobleck's own teammates worthless. But to be remembered as a hero, rather than a spy?

"I think he'd have liked that, sir."

"I hope so, Mr Arc. I hope so. He was a great man and a wonderful professor. I doubt you'll find many here who won't miss him in some way, even if they complained about his homework before." Ozpin leaned forward a little. "I just want you to know that there are many here who share your feelings. Though I may be unapproachable, Glynda or Port will always have time should you experience any ill-effects. I'd rather you speak to someone than hold it in."

"I… I understand." He had a feeling he wouldn't be making use of that offer, no matter how much he might have needed it. "Was there anything else you wanted to ask me about, sir?"

"There was one thing. When you and your team were collected, some individuals from Vale's hospital arrived to collect you. Though I dismissed them at the time, I felt it suspicious enough to talk with the emergency services afterwards, and to my surprise they informed me that _no one_ had been sent toward the front lines, as ordered."

Obviously not. He wasn't sure if the VSS were being clumsy, lazy or just hasty. There was more going on here than recklessness for sure.

"Those people seemed rather keen on having access to yourself and Miss Belladonna," Ozpin said. "Do you know why?"

"No, I don't."

Ozpin leaned back. The man watched him with an unreadable gaze, eyes filled with some emotion Jaune couldn't define. "I am the headmaster of Beacon, Mr Arc. All who study here are my responsibility and are under my protection. I do not look kindly on those who would seek to harm my students." He paused to let that sink in, the offer of aid, assistance, or just protection. "Are you sure you don't know who they were?"

There was a part of him that wanted so badly to submit to the man before him. Ozpin was strong and influential, more than capable of protecting him against the VSS. It would be easy to tell him all he knew and rely on a new mentor.

But it would also mean trading his chains for a new set, this time to someone he had no reason to trust and no who's motives were shrouded. He had no idea what Ozpin wanted or why he'd met with Ironwood, or what those Relics were that he'd mentioned with such awe and fear. A few months back, none of that would have mattered compared to his own safety.

Now, with all the things he'd experienced? It mattered. Paranoia ran through his veins and Ozpin's offer – as kind as it may have seemed – screamed of hidden intention and dark promise. He couldn't accept that, not blindly. And besides, Oobleck had asked him to look into Ozpin. Joining him now would as good as spitting in Oobleck's face, not to mention wasting all the hard work and effort they'd put in.

"I don't know who they were, sir," he said, the lie coming easily. "I'm sorry."

Ozpin looked disappointed, though he hid it well. "I see. Well, my door is open should you ever need me. I suppose there's not much left to speak of here. Your team will want to see you soon, I presume, if only to assure themselves you are okay."

"I'll go see them now." Jaune stood and moved away but paused when Ozpin called out.

"One thing, Mr Arc, or two things."

"Yes?"

"That outfit you wore when you arrived here. It was rather unusual and not at all like what you wear normally."

"I found it in Mountain Glenn," he answered honestly. "It was in some abandoned house along with some weaponry. Blake and I used it to sneak up on the White Fang."

"I see." Ozpin could neither deny nor challenge that. "Well, it has been stored in a new locker for you, and the details of that have been forwarded to your scroll. I'm afraid your previous rocket locker suffered something of a strange malfunction, or an arson attack. It was destroyed."

Not a question and yet phrased in such a way that the question was obvious. Jaune faked a shocked look and shook his head, however. "What? Who would do something like that?"

Ozpin sighed. "I've no idea, Mr Arc. Have a good day."

"You too, sir."

The elevator door hissed shut behind him.

/-/

Ozpin sighed and sat back down behind his desk, hands steepled in front of him. He felt every one of his years, even the unnatural ones, and it was events like this which made it so much worse.

"He's lying," Qrow said, turning from a bird resting on an open window into a huntsman.

"Quite the bold claim, Qrow."

"Ha, as if you didn't notice. The kid's good at it – even better than Ruby when she steals my weapon and thinks no one noticed, but he has tells."

"He doesn't, actually." Ozpin noted, sighing. "There was not a single aspect of him that would have given such away, other than that you and I both know things we should not. Or that the situation made an effective lie impossible."

Qrow shrugged, conceding the point.

"Children should not know how to lie so effectively, nor should they feel the need to do it to someone like me."

"Someone in a position of authority?" Qrow asked.

"No. Someone they can trust."

Qrow laughed. "You?"

Ozpin sighed. It was a regrettable sentiment that Qrow was, at the end of the day, correct in his sarcasm. The position of headmaster was just one responsibility that lay on his shoulders, and all too often his other garnered more effort, more focus and more resources. In the end, why should Mr Arc trust him? Sometimes Ozpin barely trusted himself.

"Keep an eye on him, Qrow, but not as a threat."

"You know, you could push the issue. The kid's in danger and he'd be an asset."

"If he could come to see things our way, perhaps, or if he were loyal to me. Sadly, his loyalty is to another, and I would not be so callous as to suggest I take that position. At the end of the day, Mr Arc has his own goals in life. I simply hope they mimic ours."

"Me too, old man. Well, I suppose I can keep an eye on him when I get a chance."

Ozpin nodded. "That's all I ask."

/-/

Jaune did not go back to his dorm as he'd mentioned before, but instead pushed through the corridors towards Oobleck's classroom, which attached to his office, where he spent much of his free time. He kept his pace steady despite an urge to break into a sprint. It wouldn't do to arouse suspicion.

The office's door was open, and it looked like there had been many paying their respects, for cards and letters were stuck to it and around the base, all with kind messages for the teacher that had vanished from his student's lives so abruptly. Jaune paused to read one, a kind memory of a young woman who had been falling behind until Oobleck helped her. He doubted there had been any VSS purpose to that, which meant Oobleck had done it out of the kindness of his heart.

The huntsman vying with the spy for dominance. Oobleck had been a spy desperately trying to be something else, something more, and yet unable to leave behind the life of an Agent. Maybe they were more like than either had realised. He, too, could have left here, pledging his loyalty to Ozpin and becoming a huntsman and nothing else.

But he knew too much. Maybe Oobleck had, too. Once you were aware of the things going on behind the scenes, with the underworld, with Cinder, with Ozpin and Ironwood – it was impossible to forger them. His curiosity burned, and ignorance could no longer be bliss. If he wanted to be the huntsman, he'd be expected to let those things slide and simply trust those in charge.

He wasn't sure he could do that anymore. Oobleck hadn't been able to, either.

The classroom was dusty and empty. He stepped through it and toward the office, letting himself in without any trouble. VSS though he may have been, Oobleck wouldn't want to arouse suspicion by putting intricate traps on security on what should, by all means, be a simple office.

Jaune sat behind the man's desk and took a long sigh, fighting the urge to cry. There was no time for it and grief could come later. He pulled open the first drawer, finding a notepad, some pens and a few stationary supplies. The second revealed the same, with a few sheets of paper, too. Reaching into it, however, he was able to tease his fingers up and under, into the base of the first drawer – still open – until he found a small hole.

He tugged on it, and the thin plasterboard shifted, revealing a hidden compartment under the base of the top drawer. Inside that, a portable terminal was strapped in place. He brought it out and laid it on the table, starting it. The grey screen flashed, and despite the secret compartment, it still pretended to be a normal Lapscroll, with a fake password screen and an easy hint that would lead to diversionary files and documents such as school work and test results.

Ignoring that, he tapped in the secret code to get past that screen and onto the true contents, a new password screen with the logo of the VSS behind it, the message beneath, their slogan, _"For Vale, All."_ Jaune stared at it, fighting past the bile that rose inside of him. He'd once considered that such a wonderful idea, but he knew better now.

 _Oobleck said I'd know his password,_ Jaune thought, staring at the screen. He had no idea what to put in, yet he didn't for a second doubt the man's final words. What did he know about Oobleck? Apart from some details of his past and Roman, he knew very little. What he _did_ know was that Oobleck was cautious and professional. If he wanted to keep something locked behind a password, it would be an impossibly difficult one.

Anything regarding Roman would have been the first thing to come to mind, but a potential infiltrator could know about his past, or find out, so that was too much of a risk. Similarly, the actual "hint" supplied was as good as useless. Even a rookie would have known it as nothing more than a red herring.

"I'll know your password. What does that even mean? I don't know it all. There's no way for me to break into this-"

Wait, was that what he was supposed to know? That there was no way in? If he _knew_ that the password was impossible to guess, then maybe Oobleck was telling him that there was another way. It was a long shot, but time was short. Jaune drew out his scroll and plugged it into the side. The hacking app on it worked on any electronics but wouldn't work on VSS equipment for obvious reasons. Even so, he tried it.

Failure, the app reported.

But then it changed. The screen on his scroll altered, showing a single word – Rat. The password bar on the terminal changed, too, filling up with asterisks until a code some 36 digits long was filled out. It entered automatically, granting access. Oobleck put a key on his scroll. When? How?

The desktop background made him freeze. Rather than the plain grey or the logo of the VSS as expected, it was an image – a photograph. Four people, nineteen to twenty, stood before a camera smiling happily. Two he didn't recognise, a man and a woman, but the others he did. One was Oobleck, younger and without a care in the world, and behind him – with his arms wrapped around all four – a happy-faced man with bright orange hair stood.

Roman's smile split his face in two, a mix of pure joy and also pride in his team. His hair was pulled back into a ponytail and his outfit was different, more colourful. The man was unrecognisable to the Roman he knew.

"Is this how much the VSS changed you both?"

It didn't matter. Tearing his eyes away, Jaune accessed the VSS database, watching the cogs turn as Oobleck's access codes were checked and analysed. A box popped up.

 _Agent Deceased. Access Denied._

"Damn it," Jaune cursed, slamming a fist down onto the table. Frustration welled up inside, turning to rage almost immediately. "Fuck, shit, damn it!" He'd been too slow, too god-damned slow. Or maybe the VSS had been too quick, knowing in advance that Oobleck would die and cutting off his access almost immediately.

Either way, he was screwed now. His own access was obviously out thanks to his going rogue. Ciel wouldn't have access, being from a rival agency, and that left him with no options other than Magician, who he didn't know and couldn't yet trust. Jaune punched the table again angrily, only just restraining the urge to throw the Lapscroll off entirely.

As he did, a document on the desktop caught his eye. It was titled simply; READ ME.

He opened it.

 _Username: PHX-1_

 _Password: Qoe97dXy9_

"What the…?" He checked the date on the document, eyes narrowing as he saw it had been created today – only hours earlier, and long after Oobleck had already died. This wasn't a message left by Oobleck, at all.

Bringing back up the VSS control panel, he entered the username and password, eyes widening as he was logged into the system. _Greetings Phoenix_ , the words on the screen read.

"Phoenix…?"

It wasn't this agent's personal files and folders but rather their access to the VSS database, which was controlled remotely in case an agent needed to access it from a different terminal. But why give it to him and what was the point? Unless this person was highly ranked within the organisation, they wouldn't be able to alter anything. He couldn't use it to change his personal records or details. It was useless to him.

A chat box popped up in the corner.

" _Phoenix, do you require assistance?"_

VSS Central Command – the same people he'd spoken to on occasion when he needed clarification or resources. Jaune almost panicked then and there, but realised they thought he was someone else, that he was this Phoenix person.

He was about to say no, when an idea hit him.

" _Is the target on the traitor still in effect?"_ he typed.

" _Affirmative."_

Shit, well that wasn't good. Not that he hadn't expected or known it, but still, hearing it said so simply had him swallowing his panic. What good was letting him access this account if it was just to see that? There had to be something more.

Well, he could at least see what they had on him. It would be hard to convince his parents to move, but possible.

" _I need the target's files."_ He sent the message and received a response immediately.

" _I will grant access. Please wait…"_ The dot, dot, dot on the screen repeated for several long moments, stretching on toward two full minutes. The longer it went, the worse the wait, though he forced himself to stay seated. Eventually, he was rewarded with a response. _"Access granted. Be advised, previous attempt by Agent Sparrow led to termination. Proceed with care."_

The screen was quickly filled with boxes of text and an image of his face, along with a bio and what details they had. It was the last message which caught his attention, though. Terminated? Someone had been killed trying to take him out? Why? Who?

His eyes slipped to his own bio a second later, and yet again he froze.

Home: Misenwood.

Family: Deceased.

Semblance: Immunity to Gas.

Education: Vacuo Academy for Gifted Youth.

The details went on and on, all through to his preferred eating habits, friends, associates and more – but most importantly, every single one of them was wildly incorrect. It even had his age wrong, a full three years older than he was. It was like looking at the profile of someone else and he had to check the name and face just to make sure there hadn't been a mistake.

Nope. That was him, and the name was still Jaune Arc, though the profile made note of his surname being a fake moniker designed by Oobleck, which was again false. But it would keep attention away from his family.

"What the hell is going on here?" he asked out loud. First, he arrived late and the access from Oobleck was already denied, but the contents of his profile had been changed. Had Oobleck done it himself? No, that was impossible. If he had, he wouldn't have wasted some of his final words telling them to come and change it.

Someone else had, and judging from the document left on Oobleck's desktop, it had been only a few hours ago. More than that, knowing he would have no way of finding out, said person had also granted him access to someone _else's_ account, just so he could access the database and confirm this with his own eyes. Someone had covered his back, and it wasn't Blake, Ciel or Oobleck.

" _Is there any other way I can help?"_ the chat box asked.

Hesitantly, Jaune typed up a response.

" _Show me my profile."_

" _I will grant access. Please wait…"_

A second profile appeared not a minute later, showing a face, name, and more information than he'd ever seen before. Jaune slammed the terminal shut, stood and then, as a last thought, destroyed the thing entirely.

Eyes wide, Jaune fled.

/-/

"Jaune!" Ruby met him in the hallway not ten minutes later, smiling happily. "I didn't know you were okay to move about. Are you okay? Does anything hurt? I heard about what happened." Her smile fell. "I can't believe Doctor Oobleck is gone. But you're okay, right?"

"I'm fine," he said, finally relaxing a little bit. "Thanks, Ruby."

"Huh, for what?"

"For understanding my message."

"Oh, the call!" Ruby laughed breezily. "Yeah, that was pretty scary. You really had me worried. But I figured Grimm and Vale could only mean one thing."

And that had saved their lives, quite literally. In the end, Oobleck's sacrifice only stopped more Grimm from following through, but he and his team had been injured to the point that they wouldn't have been capable of defending themselves. Had Ruby not had the entirety of Beacon ready, they'd have surely died.

"You're the real hero here, Ruby. You saved our lives."

Faced with such praise, Ruby could only flush prettily and look away. "W-Well, I was just doing what I had to. Besides, you're the ones who found out about the terrorist attack."

"You're the ones who dealt with it."

"Ugh." Ruby punched his arm lightly, smiling despite her blush. "You're just trying to embarrass me now. How about we _both_ helped? You found out about it and I told everyone. It's not like I was going to let my bo- best friend get hurt, right?"

"I guess not." Jaune opened his arms wide for a hug, and Ruby, after a second to laugh, stepped into it, wrapping her arms around his waist.

It was a warm hug, but not an overly intimate one, at least not at first. Jaune held onto her, taking comfort in her simply warmth, happiness and innocence. Not for Ruby hiding in the shadows or brutally killing people for the `greater good`. She was a huntress, a hero, and someone who he could only look up to, despite her short stature.

She also helped to remind him of what _he_ was supposed to be, and to mask his own pain for a short time. Without meaning to, he closed his eyes and dipped his face into her hair, inhaling her scent. Clean, sweet, and despite her namesake, she smelled more of lemon and vanilla scented shampoo than roses. She'd also gone very stiff in his arms.

"Jaune?"

"You smell good," he mumbled.

"I-I do…?" She sounded nervous, uncertain, but not upset. Almost excited. He heard her swallow. "I-uh… well, I… you smell good, too."

He didn't. He smelled of the infirmary, which meant an overly clean anti-septic scent mixed with something that could only be called _plain_. It was the same kind of smell one got when they walked into a hospital or doctor's office; a sterilised nothingness.

"Jaune?" she asked again, when he didn't respond for a good minute or so. "Is something wrong?"

"Probably," he admitted, "But this helps. You help."

"How?"

"By being you."

It was obvious Ruby had no idea what that meant, but he appreciated that she clung on a little tighter nonetheless. "Does this have something to do with those people who were trying to get you?" she asked. "Who were they?"

"I'll tell you at some point, I promise. But for now, can I just have this?"

"This?"

"You," he answered without thinking.

Ruby buried her bright-red face in his chest. "Not fair," she mumbled. "You're doing this on purpose." She swallowed. "Are we…?"

"Hm?"

"Are we…? I was wondering if…?" Each time she tried to phrase the question, she faltered. Eventually, she forced it out. "What are we?"

Jaune blinked. "What?"

"What are we?" Ruby repeated, pushing back a little – not enough to leave his arms, but enough so that she could look up at him with a face filled with frayed nerves and wide silver eyes that couldn't quite settle on his for a second without dancing away. "It's just… I don't know. W-We're friends, right?"

"Of course we are. How can you think we're not?"

"I don't, I don't," she assured. "It's just…" She swallowed again and looked down to his arms which were wrapped under her arms. His hands were settled on the small of her back. "I was just… I don't know if." Her eyes darted to his. "Is friends _all_ we are? You invited me to the dance, and then the lessons together, and then what Yang, Weiss and Nora kept saying and… and what we did after the dance," she said, flushing adorably. "The… This kiss."

It was Jaune's turn to swallow. "Ah…"

One could hardly call it a kiss, seeing as their lips had brushed for the barest second before they bumped noses and foreheads, and yet even despite that, he knew he'd be calling it his first kiss for the rest of his life.

"I just don't know what we are," Ruby whispered. "And then this, and what you're saying, and the smelling and… well…" She nodded to someone who was walking by, a girl a year or two older than them who smirked and winked before hurrying away. It was obvious what she thought they were, and that distinction was weighing on Ruby. "Are we a thing?" she asked. "Are we…" Another swallow. "Together?"

Suave and sophisticated a spy may have been, but at that moment Jaune's tongue felt like it was tied into a thick knot. The gentlemanly thing to do would be to confidently answer that. Instead, he went with the coward's approach.

"Do you want us to be?"

Ruby looked away, panicked. "I asked first."

"Did you?"

"I… well…" She tried to glare at him, but it faltered the moment she had to meet his gaze. Her cheeks darkened, and she stared at his chest instead. "Maybe?" she whispered. "I don't know. I don't _not_ , but if you don't, it's fine…"

She trailed off weakly. Her eyes clenched shut and she seemed to be arguing with herself for a moment. Jaune opened his mouth but she beat him to it, hands balling into fists on his back as she pressed her face into his chest once more.

"Yes," she said. "I… I think I do."

Shit. Shit and hell yes. Hell yes and oh gods, no. Jaune's entire body vibrated for a moment, caught between so many conflicting emotions that it had no idea what to do. He forced himself to take a deep breath instead, and then forced himself to speak.

"Can I… think about it?"

Ruby stilled. Her eyes remained fixed on his clothing, though her face had drained of blood. It was not the answer she'd wanted to hear, even if a frightened part of her had probably expected it. "Oh," she breathed, and then seemed to stop breathing altogether. "Oh, well, it's fine if you don't want to. I just… maybe I was reading into things wrong and-"

"You weren't," he interrupted. When her eyes flicked to his, he went on. "You weren't reading into things and I _do_ want you. I want us to be together and… and yes, I do feel for you more than a friend. More than I do for Blake, Ciel, Pyrrha or Ren. You're incredible, Ruby. You're beautiful, but it's more than that and loads of people here are beautiful. You're alive in a way they're not, and you're so vibrant and colourful. Just being around you makes it impossible for me to feel sad and… and I love that. I want to be around you all the time. It's just… I'm not sure it would be a good idea. And not because of you or me, but because, well…"

Ruby wasn't an idiot. Even red with embarrassment at his heady praise, she connected the dots. "The people chasing you?"

He nodded.

"I could protect you," she said.

From anyone else, the offer of a fifteen-year-old to protect him from the VSS would have been a mix of laughable and mortifying, not to mention what it would do for his self-respect. Not so from her, however. Ruby didn't make the offer lightly. She said she would, so, she would. And he didn't doubt for a second that she could protect him, or at least she would try.

But that might also be the death of her.

"It's fine, Ruby. I need to deal with this on my own."

"And us…?" she asked nervously.

"I want to say yes. I want to say yes so badly it hurts." His words made her blush again. "But can you give me a little time? Is that okay?"

"Y-Yeah, sure. It's not like I'm going anywhere."

Ruby hesitated for a second, and then, with an obvious amount of mental effort, pushed herself up on her tip toes. Her intent was clear even before she closed her eyes, and his body reacted instantly. His arms tightened around her waist to draw her against him, and to draw her up a little further. He leaned down, too.

Their noses bumped again, but this time neither forced their way past it and he tilted his head to the side, seeking to fit hers even as she did the same. There was a moment's pause where their breath mixed, hers seeming so light on his lips and yet it was like an electric current. His body felt hot and he could feel sweat bead on his brow.

Without a second thought, he closed the distance – leaping into the inferno.

Longer, softer, less ambiguous. Ruby melded against him and yet he tried to pull her in even more. They were touching, and it wasn't enough. They were kissing, and it wasn't enough. It was only when she made a tiny sound of protest that he stopped squeezing her, that he realised she wasn't going anywhere and wouldn't break this wonderful feeling if he released her. That she wanted this, too.

Their parting was as planned as their meeting, Jaune's lungs burning and forcing him to pull away lest he pass out. His face was flushed, and his breath came out in harsh pants. Ruby mewled as they parted, and he could have taken her again right then and there.

It was impossibly hard to restrain himself, and only possible because someone coughed nearby, drawing attention to the fact that not only were they not alone, but they'd had a spectator for some time. Ruby's eyes were hazy, her lips bruised, but after a second of confusion she tore her eyes from his to the girl stood to their left. Her eyes widened.

"YANG!?"

"Ruby," Yang returned politely, shit-eating grin in place. "Jaune," she added, nodding again. "Nice weather we're having, huh?"

Ruby sparked to life in his arms, flailing wildly to escape – not that it would hide the evidence, they having been caught more than a little red-handed. She broke free and darted several feet away, eyes flicking between the two blondes as though trying to determine how much she could lie and get away with, or what excuse she could use. Judging from her rapidly paling face, she came up with nothing.

"I can explain!"

"Oh, I bet you can, sis," Yang laughed. "I can explain it too. When a guy and a girl-"

"No, no, no, it's not what you think."

"Sure it isn't. You were just fixing a filling." Yang guffawed when Ruby's face turned as red as her cape. "Tell you what, if you go and get me a chocolate slice from the cafeteria, I _won't_ tell Weiss and Nora what I just saw. How's that for a deal?"

Ruby was almost gone immediately but paused. "You promise?"

"Sister's honour."

"You won't hurt him, will you?" Ruby asked again, looking to Jaune.

"And earn the cold shoulder from you for the next six months? No." Yang rubbed her sister's head. "You're a big girl now and it's not like I didn't encourage it a little. Have some faith. Your boy-toy will be in one piece when you see him next."

Ruby nodded and stepped away, still morbidly embarrassed and struggling to meet his eyes. He, in turn, couldn't take his eyes off her lips, which looked bright red and all the more inviting for it. She departed a second later, leaving he and Yang alone.

"So, you and my sis, huh? Can't say I didn't expect it to happen, but is this the time for it?"

"We're not together," he managed, shaking his head to clear out the Ruby-induced cobwebs. "I told her I need time to think about it, that I needed time to make sure we could be together without anything bad happening." Jaune took a deep breath and faced Yang more fully. "But then you'd know that, wouldn't you?"

Yang grinned. "I guess I would. I take it you got my message."

Jaune nodded, eyes fixed on Yang Xiao-Long, or as she might otherwise have been known, Phoenix. An Agent of the VSS under his nose, right beside him, and he'd never known – or never been told. Oobleck must have known.

"I think we need to talk."

* * *

 **Welp. Yep, Yang is Phoenix. I know a few people figured that out last chapter, and that some even connected the dots as much as ten or fifteen chapters ago. Well done. Why, how, and what happened to the Assassin from the previous chapter?**

 **Well, that's all in the next chapter.**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 13** **th** **May**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	40. Chapter 40

**Here we are and here we go.**

* * *

 **Cover Art:** Kegi Springfield

 **Chapter 40**

* * *

The room Yang led him to was neither classroom nor storage cabinet, but some once-used room Jaune honestly couldn't identify anymore. It was covered in dust and didn't look to have been used in any official capacity for years. It might have been where students went for a little private time with partners now, or where spies went to discuss dangerous subjects in private.

"The room is clear," Yang said, checking the corners and activating some app on her scroll. "No bugs, cameras or recorders. We won't be disturbed here."

Jaune nodded and moved over to sit on a desk. "You said you wanted to talk."

"And we will," Yang said. She looked to him and sighed. "No Blake? No trap? Do you even have a hidden weapon on you?"

"No. Why?"

She sighed again. "You know I'm an Agent and you're this trusting? You really are new. What would you do if I turned on you now, or if there were five other agents waiting in here to ambush you? What would you do if this was all a trap?"

He'd have been caught, simple as that. Jaune's lips tugged down.

"Exactly," Yang said. "You can't be this reckless – not with what you've done. Lucky for you I'm not interested in that, but that's luck on your part, nothing more. You shouldn't count on that."

She was right, of course. He should have at least warned Blake so she'd find his absence suspicious if he didn't return in time, or so that she knew where to find him. No. Blake wouldn't be enough, so he should have warned Ruby – and maybe set a time for her to interrupt if he didn't come out. She'd work better because Yang wouldn't dare do anything in front of her.

A little late to learn the lesson, but it was a lesson learned. "I'll keep that in mind next time. Still, you're an agent? You?"

"Surprised?"

"Yes! You don't strike me as someone who would ever be one. You're too loud, too excitable, too friendly." Jaune's mouth clicked shut, at least for a second. "And all of that is a mask, huh?"

Yang grinned. "No, but it could be."

"Huh?"

"You think every spy is a taciturn badass waiting to bust some evil scientist? The VSS needs other kinds too, the seducers, the friendly ones, the confidantes. Someone who can worm their way into other's friendships and convince them to spill their secrets. They need people who can flash a little skin and seduce their targets into bed."

"And that's you?"

Yang moved faster than he could blink to slam a fist into his arm. Jaune yelped and held onto it, feeling the rapidly growing bruise there.

"No," Yang said, irritated. "No, it's not. My point is that we don't fit these neat little moulds that you're thinking of. There's only one reasons someone is picked to be a spy; position. Nothing else matters. You can be the dumbest person in the world but if you're the confidante of the most important person, you'd make a good spy." Yang shrugged. "Or an infirmant in that case, if they're too dumb to be trusted, but you see my point. It's not about personality, skill or loyalty – those can be changed. It's about what you bring to the table. It's about how the VSS can use you."

"Take you for example," she continued, pointing to him. "You've done alright, or so I hear, but you definitely weren't picked for your potential. No one in the VSS gave two hoots about the Arc name, what it might mean, or Jaune Arc himself. They only cared about one thing."

Jaune recalled it easily. "That Ozpin let me into Beacon even though he must have known my transcripts are fake. That Ozpin either _wanted_ me here or saw value in me being here."

"Bingo. Your value was never in you; just in your closeness to Ozpin. That's all that ever mattered, and strangely enough it's what continues to matter here – and why you're so hunted."

"What do you mean?"

"A rogue agent is a big deal, but not _that_ big of a deal. It depends on what rank, how much they know and more – and let's be honest here, you know beans. You know maybe Oobleck's name and the codenames of one or two others, along with the location of a safehouse or two. Do you really think that's a big deal?"

"But I disobeyed orders," Jaune said. "Isn't that why they're after me, to punish me?"

Yang laughed. "The VSS doesn't have time to waste on that. Besides, you failed a single mission. So what? You'd be better served being recruited back in and retrained. A full-scale manhunt is a little off, don't you think?"

He hadn't thought it at all, but maybe he should have. The way Yang laid it out proved just how bizarre it was. The VSS really did have bigger problems to contend with; like Roman and Cinder. He was small fry.

"Why are they after me, then?"

"Because of your connections. Because you were always seen as being someone of interest to Ozpin, or at least within his circle of influence, yet you were loyal to us." Yang snorted. "Or rather, you were loyal to Oobleck."

"And with Oobleck gone…"

"The VSS can no longer trust you. They fear you'll go to Ozpin, or worse, to the very criminals you were investigating with the Director. Right now, there's a three-way war going on in the shadows between Ozpin and this Cinder woman – and the VSS is caught in the middle."

"And if I went to either side, I could expose them."

Yang nodded.

He finally understood. It wasn't the law, the rules or his breaking them, but rather the potential threat he presented if he turned to either side. He was too much of a risk and a loose end and given that he'd been working undercover with Roman already, it wasn't a leap for the VSS to believe he might be tempted to join with them, especially for his own protection. The assassination attempt on the train hadn't even been aimed at him, not really. It had been aimed at taking out the train in the explosion, completing the mission he'd refused to.

Murder _had_ seemed a ridiculous penalty for a single refusal, but he'd taken it personally, assuming it an attempt to get rid of him for no other reason than to punish him.

"Can I convince the VSS I won't turn?"

Yang crossed her arms. "I don't know. Won't you?"

"I wouldn't hurt Vale!" he protested.

"No, but can you honestly say you're loyal to the VSS?"

Jaune hesitated. He wanted to answer, if only to lie to her and secure a little safety, but something told him that would be a bad idea. Right here, right now, Yang was helping him. She needed to know the truth, or he'd just get into worse trouble.

"I don't know…"

"Yeah, I figured. Trust me, your bridges are burned, especially after what happened last night." Yang sighed and moved back so sit on a table of her own, crossing one leg over the other. "You realise I saved your bacon, right? Did you see the report?"

 _Previous Attempt by Agent Sparrow led to termination_

"Someone tried to kill me…"

"You and Blake both, and maybe your whole team afterwards. I stepped in to save you, even if I had to get my hands dirty _and_ dispose of a body afterwards. You're welcome by the way."

He didn't know what to say. His team? Just like that…?

"Anyway, on the loyalty issue, the VSS knows the only one you really owed any to was Oobleck. That's the thing about Oobleck, you know. He was one of a kind. You ever think it odd that a spy – a really high-ranked one, no less – would give you his name so easily?"

Jaune looked up. "It was fake?" he asked, hurt.

"No, and that's what makes it so amazing. We're trained to keep things hidden, Jaune. We're trained not to trust. Yet Oobleck was someone who gave his name out wherever he fancied. He'd let you see his face. He'd let you come to him privately for advice or training. He'd be there for you if you needed it." Yang shook her head and Jaune had the feeling she was recalling some moments where Oobleck had done just that for her. "It's hard to feel much loyalty for a voice giving you orders. It's hard to feel loyal towards an organisation without names, faces or personality."

"And all the easier to feel it for the one person who had all of that..."

"Yep. I'd heard rumours he was slated to take over in time. People were personally loyal to him and that was seen as a big boon – but it came with risks, too, and with his passing, those risks grew even bigger. Oobleck left behind a lot of people who were more used to following his instructions than the VSS'."

 _People like me,_ he realised. He knew nothing about the VSS other than what Oobleck told him and didn't even know who was in charge or who he should take orders from. It had all come from Oobleck himself. _Yang's right. I don't feel anything towards the VSS. I was always loyal to Oobleck, and I formed attachments to Vanguard and Magician. I chose to disobey the VSS, and from their point of view, it probably looked like I did that because I trusted Oobleck's words more than theirs._

He could see why that might be considered a problem. Like a military organisation, the VSS needed people who would follow their orders. They couldn't punish Oobleck when he got results, and it wouldn't have mattered if they could have followed through and put Oobleck in charge in time. Loyalty to Oobleck would have _become_ loyalty to the VSS. Sadly, with his death, all of that possibility was gone.

"Is Magician in danger?" Jaune asked. A moment later his eyes widened. "Are _you_ in danger?"

"If you look hard enough, you'll find an upper year who had to leave to attend to a `family emergency` a day back," Yang said. "Also known as retraining and reassessment. Magician will be fine. As for me, well, I was never one of Oobleck's special children like you." Yang shrugged. "He didn't recruit me into the VSS. Officially, I never knew him."

"But unofficially…"

Yang shrugged but gave no answer.

The information swirled around in his head, dizzying him. There was a lot of it to process but precious little that he could affect either way. It was possible that if he'd been picked up straight away by the VSS, he'd still be a part of them. They'd have gone through all sorts of tests to make sure he was loyal, and he had a feeling he didn't want to know what those were, but he might not necessarily be hunted like he was now.

However, since he'd evaded them – even unconsciously – and chosen to stay in Beacon with Ozpin, it wasn't hard to see why the VSS had decided the safer choice was to cut their losses. They were all about making the safest choices for the betterment of Vale, not necessarily the kindest.

But if he'd gone back to the VSS, Blake would surely have been killed. It was too obvious they'd been involved together, and he'd come back to Vale half-dressed as a VSS agent and having disobeyed a direct order. His entire team might have been `dealt with`, just to make sure he hadn't spilled his secrets to them.

And Yang. His eyes traced up to hers, to find her watching him intently in turn. Yang. Phoenix. Someone who had existed as an Agent before he, as he could remember seeing a locker with that name in one of the safehouses. But he, Vanguard and Magician had worked and fought together. Why hadn't Phoenix been a part of that? They could have used her strength.

"Why did you help me?" he asked.

"Because of Ruby," she answered simply. "And because Oobleck asked me to."

"When? I thought you weren't recruited by him. Why would you follow his request over the VSS' orders?"

Yang sighed dramatically. "I guess I might as well give you the full story. You won't trust me otherwise, and I don't have time to win you over. Just remember, this," she gestured to herself. "Doesn't go anywhere. You can tell Blake what I am if you like, but you keep anything you learn about _me_ out of it."

"Got it."

"Good." Yang leaned back and let out a long breath. She settled down a little as she began to tell her story. "I wasn't born into the VSS like some people are, nor was I inducted. I was recruited, first as an informant and later as an actual member." She chuckled. "Not that I realised I was an informant at the time. That's how the VSS likes it."

"I was fourteen when they found me. I was still studying in Signal and there was a class for advanced and alternative combat – the kind of place you could go outside of class time for extra lessons or just to spar. It was meant to help people who were struggling, but they always welcomed anyone who wanted to be a part of it. I liked to go because it gave me a place to cool off after a day of hard lessons. There was this guy there – a teacher – called Mr Fishers. He was a cool guy, for a teacher, and he knew a lot about different types of weapons and how to use them."

"I didn't realise at the time he was VSS, of course," she said. "He was there to investigate my Uncle Qrow, but while he was at it, he'd pass on information on promising students to the VSS for potential recruitment."

"You were one of them?"

"Nope." Yang laughed. "I was too loud, he felt, but he still trained me and helped me out, since that was his cover as a teacher. I liked him, and after a while I started to trust him. He'd help me with other things too, like advice on schoolwork or problems with my friends." She sighed. "And later, once he'd broken down my barriers sufficiently, he slowly led me toward discussing my issues with my family, too."

"It wasn't always big things. I'd complain about Ruby refusing to make friends or focusing too much on her weapons, or dad smiling at another woman – I was a kid," she explained, a little embarrassed. "So yeah, he'd listen and help, and the more he did, the more I talked. You need to understand that I wasn't in a great place. My first mom ran away on us and Summer had died a while before that, and even if Dad was getting better, he wasn't over it and neither was I. Mr Fishers was someone I could talk to, someone I could trust. And… and I guess making him proud of me became something I subconsciously did. He'd ask me about Uncle Qrow, and I'd do whatever I could to help."

Jaune wondered if he should reach out to comfort her but knew better. She neither wanted nor needed it. "You didn't know," he said instead.

"Nah, I didn't – and that's how they like it. I was an informant without knowing a thing about what I was doing, and I told them everything I could about my Uncle Qrow, from what he was doing to what he said, both to me – or around me – and more. It wasn't until well over a year later, sometime when I was fifteen, I think, that I got properly brought into the VSS."

"It happened when Mr Fishers told me of a private training program I could be sent on, one that would help me grow stronger than I ever had before. I was all for it at the time, wanting to make everyone – Dad, Ruby and Uncle Qrow – proud of me. And he didn't lie, but it wasn't the whole truth either. I met people I didn't recognise, and Mr Fishers introduced me, and then he explained a little of what the VSS did, but only a little. Enough to know I'd be helping people and protecting them – and isn't that just what a huntress does anyway? That's what I thought."

Yang tapped a finger on the desk. "You know, the VSS has a very specific way of recruiting people. My handler once told me some of the other Kingdoms appeal to money, influence, coercion or ego, but that the VSS had been around longer and knew better. You can't buy loyalty so easily and needed to build it up over time. That might work for recruiting informants and agents, but actual members of the VSS needed more. It's all quite clever really, using a mix of gifts, benefits, social reinforcement and authority. I think they called it RASCLS."

"RASCLS?"

"R for Reciprocation – the idea that if you work for them, they'll give you benefits in kind. A for Authority – the VSS is a major organisation that is respected and well-known, and people like to work for that. S for Scarcity, providing things to you that _only_ they can do, giving you no alternatives. C for Consistency, slowly making it seem normal and like an everyday thing. L for liking it, or just being willing to accept it, making the work clearly exciting or tailoring it to appeal to your character. And finally, S for social proof – meaning that you can see the benefits to society of what you do for them, and slowly start to see your job as necessary for the protection of Vale. Good for society, or just making you think what you're doing is the _right thing_." Yang grinned. "The last bit sound familiar?"

It did, and to be fair, so did a lot of it. The first time he'd been brought into the VSS had been the huge building, which not only showed off their wealth, but made them seem somehow more legitimate. That was authority, wasn't it? But also the last one, social proof. They made the VSS seem so logical and integral to the city that he never balked at their methods.

"This is all to turn applicants from being regular people with selfish desires into effective agents," Yang said. "The main thing to get someone involved is a hook, though. For you, it was that you couldn't get into Beacon any other way. Oobleck told me about that."

"Yeah… I guess that appealed to my ego." Or his fantasies and dreams. "What was it for you?"

Yang grimaced. "Information."

"On…?"

"Something I couldn't get anywhere else. Something I desperately wanted to know and would have been willing to do almost anything for. Something I _thought_ I needed. Like I said, I was a teenager back then. Well, I still am, but I'm less of a trusting idiot now. Needless to say, they dangled the possibility of finding out the things I wanted in front of me and I bit."

"Did you ever find out what you wanted?"

"I did," she allowed. "In bits and pieces. They could have given me more, but they spread it out – gave me little snippets, helped me find more, showed me videos, found witness accounts. They slowly provided everything I asked for, all the while working in the background to make it so that by the time I had all I needed, I wouldn't want to leave."

"And they had you spy on your Uncle. Why?"

"Uncle Qrow works directly for Ozpin," she said, and that was explanation enough. "But no, they didn't have me do that, not at first. They probably knew trying to pit me against my family would put me in a position to choose sides. They had me do stuff in Signal first, little things, and then they slowly built it up until I was doing more. Sometimes it would be an info drop in Vale, sometimes meeting someone and taking information, shadowing a criminal or providing a distraction by starting a fight in a nightclub, so a more experienced agent can sneak in the back and get some intel. They paid me well, showered me with gifts and I could always go shopping in Vale afterwards." Yang grinned. "It's because of the VSS I was able to afford my bike."

"You loved it," Jaune said, easily recognising her tone. It was nostalgic, like someone remembering a fonder time.

"I did. It was exciting and new, and I felt important. They never held back on what they told me, or they did, but they made it seem like they didn't. The VSS _does_ work for the protection of Vale, so most of the work I did was helping the city in some way or another. It felt nice to know that, and occasionally I'd see a news report of a criminal bust and _know_ I had a part in that. I felt like a superhero, Jaune. I felt _so damn_ good. It was like a drug."

Just like it had been for him. It was so easy to feel _good_ about what they did.

"But it didn't last." Yang said. "As I got stronger, the missions got more dangerous, and as I got _smarter_ , I started to notice and put things together. Namely, I started to wonder why Mr Fishers always asked so much about Uncle Qrow, and then when I learned about recruitment practises, I started to ask why _I_ was approached in the first place. I looked deeper. I went through the databases."

"You connected the dots," he said.

"I did. I figured it out eventually, that they'd chosen me to spy on my own family – and that hurt. It really did. It hurt because I _had_ , whether I realised it or not. I'd betrayed Uncle Qrow. Oh, they tried to soften the blow by saying my family weren't considered _enemies_ , just _misled_ by Ozpin, or maybe victims in their own right, but it was all the same to me. I'd been tricked into ratting out my own uncle, who I loved. I was furious. And… well…" Yang sighed again. "I quit."

"You quit!?"

"Yup."

"B-But, here," he stammered, pointing to her. "And me! They're trying to kill me-"

"I quit a little more diplomatically than you, obviously." Yang said with a roll of her eyes. "I spoke to my handler, made arrangements, went through debriefing and had to sign a lot of forms to say I knew what might happen if I tried to betray them and such, but it's not like they work their agents to death, you know. It's not like the only way out is in a coffin."

"Yeah, just mine," he whined.

"I quit when I was about sixteen and a half – after a year or more of active service and a year before that as an informant, slowly being trained up. It was only four months before Beacon and I decided I wanted to be a huntress." She shrugged. "It's easier, you know. Grimm are evil and there isn't much ambiguity there. I wanted a world more black and white, and I figured that wouldn't be achieved in the VSS. I was free. It was over and done with. And then…" Her eyes clenched shut.

Jaune knew what it was. "Ruby…"

"Ruby," Yang confirmed with a growl. "Or not even Ruby, but Ozpin! Finding out my little sister, two years early, had been brought into Beacon like this? Oh yeah, that's nice. And finding out Ozpin and Uncle Qrow had their hands all over it was worse. I read this book once about vampires and stuff. It had this line where once someone knew of the "Twilight World" they could never forget it. Like, once you knew there were monsters who ate humans disguised as humans, you could never fully relax again because you'd look at every person and wonder if they were one of them. That's what it was like for me. My paranoia went wild and I just _knew_ Ozpin inviting Ruby wasn't an accident. I quizzed her on it, found some things that stood out in suspicious ways, and knew it went deeper. I knew the VSS would be involved in trying to find out what, and I knew that would put her in the firing line."

"So, you re-joined the VSS." It made perfect sense and Yang nodded, confirming it. He could well imagine her wanting a clean break – he did, too – but if he had someone he cared for caught up in it all, he wouldn't be able to leave either. Yang was in too deep, knew too much, and couldn't ignore what was going on when it involved her family. "Is that how you met Oobleck?"

"Yeah. I never knew him before, but the VSS took me back on. Why not? I know my stuff and I was -again – positioned perfectly. They couldn't accept me investigating Ruby, though. I was too compromised for it." Yang scowled. "And to be fair, they were right. I'd betray them in an instant for Ruby, and they knew it. I managed to find out about Oobleck being VSS and approached him. That was the first time I met him. He told me about you."

"Just like that…?"

"Not quite so easily, but close enough. He was…" Yang closed her eyes. "He was different to anyone I'd ever met before. He listened to my problems and genuinely cared, not like Mr Fishers pretended to, but he _really_ cared – and promised to look after Ruby and keep me in the picture. He didn't even ask me to help in turn. Almost without me really meaning it to, my loyalty started to shift to him. I started to help him… and, I started to help you."

For a second, he wasn't sure what she meant, but his eyes soon widened. "You pushed Ruby towards me!"

"Eh, not to the point she is now, but yeah, I did. You didn't make the _best_ first impression, you know. I mean, come on, that was clumsy!" Yang laughed, and then laughed a little harder when his face flooded with colour. "I managed to convince her you had a crush on her, which was weird, but I knew it would make her at least want to befriend you, if only to let you down gently. I figured the best way to protect Ruby would be to prove to the VSS she wasn't involved intentionally as _quickly as possible_ , long before they could decide it would be safer just do something about her. You were my best bet at that. The faster she opened up to you, the faster you'd make your decision, and since I was one hundred per cent sure Ruby was innocent, I knew I needed her to open up fully to you."

"And you gave her a little push, helping me out. Thanks." It was far more than friendship now, however, as they both knew. "I told Oobleck she was innocent, by the way."

Yang smiled. "I know. He let me know the moment you did, and the VSS accepted your findings."

"Then why not resign again?"

"Because even if Ruby isn't involved, Ozpin still wanted her in Beacon. I couldn't escape that fact, nor let it go. Ruby wants to be a huntress and a hero, as do I, and I don't want someone like Ozpin getting in the way of that or taking advantage of her good nature."

"Do you think he would? I haven't really found anything that bad about him yet."

"The VSS gave me some information about him," Yang said. "Nothing to say much, but enough to let me know he knew my mom. Both of them. One decided she wanted nothing to do with him and couldn't trust him, leaving both him and me behind. The other continued to trust and follow him. She died for it."

Jaune winced.

"I don't want Ruby to go the same way. That's why I stayed VSS, and why I'll stay until Ruby either graduates or we figure out what is going on here. With Oobleck gone, that'll be a lot harder."

"We?" Jaune asked. "Wait, why help me at all? I'd understand if it was for Ruby's sake, but the safest thing to do would be to let me die. My being alive and Ruby liking me only puts her in more danger. I don't understand why you saved me and changed Oobleck's data."

Yang leaned forwards.

"It's because I need you."

/-/

A man made his way down a dark road, dressed in black and red with a hat tilted down to hide his eyes. A crimson scarf was pulled up, both to ward away the cold and to conceal the bottom half of his face. As he approached his destination, John White looked up, sighed, and recalled the message on his scroll that had summoned him here. One from Emerald Sustrai, on behalf of Cinder Fall.

" _You're going to continue with what you were doing before,"_ Yang's voice seemed to echo in his mind. _"Whether we agree with the VSS or not, I know what will happen if this woman gets her hands on Beacon. The mission isn't complete yet, Jaune. We can't relax yet."_

This was madness, he felt. And yet, he hadn't disagreed with her. He'd nodded and agreed to help her or was it that he'd agreed to let them help each other. Like Yang said, he'd wanted to stop Cinder anyway. It was what Oobleck had died for. It had been his final promise to the man.

A little flare of static sounded before his earpiece kicked in. Blake's voice came through, soft and measured. _"Are you sure we can trust her?"_

"Yang?"

" _Hm."_

"No," he answered, not sure how much he believed it. "But I think we can rely on her a little. She did save our lives." And his family, in altering his details before they could be used for any nefarious purposes.

" _She's been watching us for months."_

"And yet she never did anything to either of us, Blake."

Static was his only answer. She'd hung up. Jaune reached up to remove the earpiece and put it away, hidden in a pocket sewn into a spot on his jacket no one would think to look for. Blake would still be able to hear, and was hidden somewhere nearby, shadowing him. Yang was, too, though neither of them had seen her. That was to be expected, he supposed.

A secret war, a three-way war, and now, like the VSS, they were trapped in the middle. The revelation should have shocked him, but it didn't. Maybe deep inside, he'd always known. At the end of the day, what he was doing here was no different to what he'd been doing with Oobleck. Only that he now answered to Yang, instead.

And he was aware that might be a cover for the VSS. He knew it might be their way of manipulating him, or a trick to have him drop his guard. That was why Blake was involved, and why he didn't let his guard down, even as he approached the venue.

A shadow detached itself from the wall, revealing pastel green hair as the girl stepped out to greet him with a nod. "John."

"Emerald."

"You're on time. Good. It's been a while."

"You too. You look better than the last time I saw you." When she raised an eyebrow, he smirked. "Well, I doubt either of us looked good on that road trip."

She snorted. "Yeah, I can imagine. Cinder is inside. Come on."

Emerald led him in, past several men dressed in a similar fashion to he, and one or two faunus that he'd guess were White Fang without their masks. Those he glared at, not quite able to hold back his hate. They probably assumed he was just a racist for they glared right back.

"Ignore them," Emerald said. "Cinder was impressed that you managed to infect the tower, by the way."

"She was? I thought she'd be angry I was caught."

"You didn't fail, and you _did_ escape. You're better than Mercury ever was. Easier to get along with, too." The last bit was added under her breath and he wasn't sure she'd intended him to really hear it. "Either way, we're moving onto the later stages of the plan now."

"And that is…?"

Her eyes flicked to his, narrowed. "I can't tell you. But… play your cards right, and you might find out. I shouldn't be saying this, but I've a feeling she might look to recruit you on a more permanent basis, assuming you keep up the good work."

"Would that be a good thing?" he asked.

"I think so. I'd follow her anywhere."

Jaune made a noncommittal sound of agreement, wondering what Yang and Blake thought of that. Yang might ask him to accept, if only to get closer. If he was already caught between the two factions, having the protection of one might be better than none.

The room she brought him to was dimly lit and warm, a heater in the back filling the room with warmth. Cinder sat there on a couch and welcomed him with a sultry smile. "John."

"Cinder." He nodded. "It's been a while since you needed me."

"We've been very busy lately. Tale a seat."

"Thank you." He sat. "And that's fine. I was just worried I'd done something to upset you both or that you didn't have any more work for me."

"Not at all," she chuckled. "You're not going to ask what we were doing?"

"If you want me to know, you'll tell me. Otherwise, it's not my place."

The woman nodded once, pleased with his answer. She motioned with one hand for Emerald to pour him some wine, which she did. The green-haired girl then sat down beside him, on his left, with the both of them opposite Cinder. "Help yourself to some wine as well, Emerald."

"Thank you, ma'am." Emerald did so.

Jaune made sure to sip his slowly, and before Emerald did so as not to appear suspicious or paranoid. He was supposed to be a trusting grunt, after all, and if she wanted him dead, poison would be a needlessly complicated way to go about it. When he'd finished it, he put the glass down and asked, "What is you wanted me for, ma'am?"

"We'll begin the meeting in a moment, John. We're waiting for someone."

The door behind them opened before Jaune could ask who, and the familiar scent of smoke and sandalwood wafted through, followed by the click-click of a cane on the ground and a pair of fancy shoes.

"Sorry I'm late, but the traffic was killer," a familiar voice mocked. The staccato footsteps paused for a second, before they continued, and a figure swaggered into view. "Well, well, well, if it isn't John! I can't say I expected to see you again. Not so soon, anyway."

Jaune's hands clenched into fists. His whole body shook.

Roman Torchwick.

* * *

 **Well, there we are. Yang's backstory, a little more explanation on why the VSS are doing what they're doing, and now movement forwards with Cinder and co, along with a reunion with Roman far sooner than either would have expected or liked.**

 **Can Jaune withhold his anger, or will Roman rat him out?**

 **Find out next time**

 **On Yang, you can probably see how she is a reluctant agent at best, and one who was so close to escaping it before Ruby's sudden induction into Beacon. Keep in mind that like any real person, she may not say everything as she means it or truthfully. You'll have to read into things. Still, Jaune has only been an agent for a few months, and he's already been on some very dangerous missions – so you can imagine what Yang's been through in over a year of active duty.**

 **The year or more as an informant wouldn't be the same, though as she hinted, the VSS were subtly training her up even then, investing in a potential recruit.**

 **More on Yang will be revealed in time - including her motives.**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 20** **th** **May**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	41. Chapter 41

**Here we are and here we go.**

* * *

 **Cover Art:** Kegi Springfield

 **Chapter 41**

* * *

Every muscle in Jaune's body tensed, but for the first time it wasn't in fear. Roman could have ratted him out and that would mean the end of him, but by far the most overwhelming sensation was anger. Pure, feral, unadulterated anger. His hands clenched into fists atop his knees and his teeth grated together, the better to prevent them shouting some terrible insult, or better yet latching onto the man's throat entirely.

Jaune didn't think he'd ever hated anyone more – not genuinely so. It wasn't a factor that was missed by Roman, and nor was it something Cinder missed.

"Just a disagreement we had," Roman chuckled, answering the unasked question as he strolled over and took a seat. He didn't sit next to Cinder, but instead chose a sofa that was to the side, and most noticeably which placed Emerald between Jaune and he.

"A disagreement?" Cinder asked.

"We clashed on a philosophical discussion. I wouldn't worry too much about it. I'm sure there are no hard feelings."

"Will it affect your ability to work together?"

"Like I said, don't worry about it."

"I didn't ask you, Roman," Cinder said. Her eyes locked onto Jaune's. "John. Will this affect your ability to work with Roman?"

With an intense effort of will, Jaune forced himself to answer. "No, ma'am."

Cinder hummed in a manner that made it clear her belief was tenuous at best, but she nodded, if not pleased then at least satisfied with the unspoken promise. "Good. We are entering the final stages of the plan and I don't have the time to deal with you two arguing. You should consider yourself lucky, John. Had you not proven yourself so reliable, I'd cut corners and remove you here, just to prevent any arguments."

"Yeah, John," Roman teased. "Count yourself fortunate." He stuck a tongue out and Jaune's temper spiked. Thankfully, Cinder beat him to the response.

"You are not so irreplaceable either, Roman. At least John has completed his tasks successfully."

That closed the thief's mouth. He grumbled and hid his embarrassment in a sip of wine. Jaune echoed him, hoping the alcohol would burn away his rage. It didn't, but it did give him something else to focus on, if only for a second. It helped him to pretend it was someone else sat not four metres away from him and not the man who had just killed his mentor.

True vengeance wouldn't come at the end of Crocea Mors or John's nameless knife, he realised. It would come in bringing Roman to justice and making him pay for his crimes. A part of him also remembered Oobleck's final request, too, that he not hate Roman, but it was too much. He'd asked too much.

"I will keep you separated for the time being, but I expect you to fix this rift between you," Cinder said. "You are no good to me arguing like children."

"Yeah, yeah." Roman waved a hand and earned a glare for it.

"I promise it won't affect my work," John said, much more politely and with a bow of his head. The woman opposite him returned it, seemingly pleased with his response.

For the next twenty-five minutes or so Jaune remained silent while Cinder and Roman talked. They discussed the Mountain Glenn mission, its relative failure and the implications of what the attack would mean for the security and public opinion in Vale. He wasn't needed for any of it but had the oddest feeling he'd been invited to hear it, perhaps their way of including him or making him trust them more, or maybe just because he needed to know this for whatever they had planned next.

"The Paladin is a loss, but I suppose in the end it doesn't matter," Cinder said. "It was only there to help you and Neo escape, and we were already able to create those duplicates for the White Fang based on its design. While it would have been nice to see the impact of it running rampant, it was never integral beyond this point."

Ciel wouldn't have liked to hear that, though he supposed she was happy as a peach anyway since she'd reclaimed it. He hadn't actually heard anything from her, and that was something that alarmed Pyrrha and Ren, but he was sure she wasn't dead. Penny was, too, and strangely calm, which led him to believe Ciel had somehow gotten in touch with the girl and assured her she was okay.

Still, he was relieved she'd managed to reclaim it if Cinder's plan was just to have it run rampant. The damage between Atlas and Vale's diplomatic ties would have been catastrophic, not to mention the loss of innocent lives.

"All in all, it's not as much of a loss as it was first believed – despite your best efforts in screwing up," she added, with a glare towards Roman for good measure.

"Hey, that's not my fault. Beacon interfered."

"Beacon is a school," Jaune couldn't help but point out.

Cinder nodded. "Indeed. It is a school that trains aspiring huntsmen and huntresses, and you, Roman, are a renowned thief capable of fighting against _actual huntsmen_ , or so I was led to believe. If you can't deal with children with an army of terrorists at your back, then what use are you?"

Beside him, Jaune felt Emerald chuckle softly, as amused with the pressure on Roman as he was himself. The orange-haired thief didn't have any words for Cinder, knowing excuses wouldn't be tolerated and that there really was no good explanation.

He couldn't explain anything about the VSS without giving himself away, and Cinder would be furious – murderously so – if she knew Roman had _known_ who it was interfering with her plans and hadn't told her.

Plus, it would mean the death of him – Jaune – and judging from the fact Roman hadn't ratted him out yet, the bastard still either had plans for him or wanted something. It was the only reason he could think of as to why he was still here and Roman was covering him.

"It won't happen again," Roman groused.

"Not the first time we've heard that," Emerald whispered to him. She shot him a roll of her eyes and Jaune faked a little laugh back.

"See that it doesn't, Roman. Time and time again you have failed me – and against _children_. I could accept it were you losing to huntsmen such as Qrow Branwen, or huntresses like Glynda Goodwitch, but you were foiled by a fifteen-year-old girl not a few months back. There comes a point where I have to wonder if you're losing on purpose."

Ruby had fought Roman? There was no other fifteen-year-old they could have meant, and it made him nervous. Cinder didn't seem overly interested though. Come to think of it, Roman _had_ been losing a lot of his fights, and the failure of Mountain Glenn was entirely on his shoulders. They wouldn't have been there if Roman hadn't made him plant the information to Oobleck, and Roman _had_ once told Jaune he wasn't entirely loyal to Cinder's goals.

Was Roman failing on purpose?

There was no knowing. Roman's gaze gave nothing away, though he did spare a quick glare for Jaune; one that told him to stop playing with fire before he got burned.

"Not all is lost," Cinder said. "We will continue as we always have. Roman, stay low for now. After the attack, the entire city is out for your head."

"Heh, you don't have to tell me twice. Is this a holiday, then?"

"No. I have something I need from you." Cinder paused to look in Jaune's direction. "John, I hate to be rude, but could you give us a moment?"

"Of course. Shall I leave entirely, or did you want me for anything?"

"I still want to talk to you," she replied with an easy smile. "Thank you for being so understanding. If you wait in the main room, I'll be with you soon. Emerald, keep him company."

Jaune was the first to stand, placing one hand down on the armrest of the seat to push himself up. As he did, he turned his body to offer his other to the girl beside him. The gentlemanly gesture earned a raised eyebrow from Emerald and a little laugh from Cinder. Emerald accepted it, though, allowing him to pull her up.

As he did, and as everyone was distracted, he pushed the tiny speaker deep into the sofa armrest with his other hand. It had a needle on the front which dug deep and the little piece of metal, no larger then a nail, soon disappeared into the fabric. Yang would pick up the rest.

Emerald led the way back to the main room, which turned out to be where the White Fang and goons from before still were, milling around chatting, reading or drinking. It looked to be a common room of sorts, though maybe school terminology didn't apply with criminals and terrorists. A `haunt`, then.

"This is far enough," Emerald said, locating them a couch in the corner. It was a ratty thing barely big enough for the two of them, but it was the only place out of hearing distance of the other goons. When they sat, their hips pressed against one another, though Emerald didn't seem too bothered by it.

"Is Roman in trouble?" he asked.

"Do you care?"

"Sort of…"

Emerald laughed. It wasn't a cruel or unpleasant sound. "Yeah, I guess you would even if you hate him at the moment. He's in trouble but not in danger. Cinder is more annoyed with his idiocy than anything else. Failure is normal and to be expected at times, but it really is galling that he loses to kids."

"We're the same age as those huntresses," he pointed out.

"True, but we're not children. There's a difference."

"You're better trained than I am. I can't really fight on the level of a huntsman or huntress."

"And what's what makes it so impressive that you managed to succeed at the tower," she said. Her eyes lit up and she shifted a little to better face him, her knee pressed into his thigh. "Cinder was really impressed with that. I was, too. You're not good enough to beat them but you found a way around it. How did you?"

"I managed to take one hostage," he said truthfully. "They were also in prom dresses, which I doubt helped. One was struggling on her heels but took them off. I smashed a few computers up to put glass shards on the floor."

"That!" Emerald said. "That is what I mean. In context, it makes Roman seem all the more a failure. He's stronger, more experienced and better equipped than you, yet you get better results. I know that's you being more cunning and so does Cinder, but it's still impressive. More than Roman, anyway."

He supposed it was, even if Blake had thrown that fight rather heartily. "It sounds like you don't like Roman much."

"I don't. He's a bastard."

"Is it his attitude?"

"A little," she admitted, "but that's not everything. I hate his motives for being here. I hate the fact that _greed_ is what drives him to risk his life. It feels so petty."

"What drives you, then?"

"Loyalty."

"Loyalty?"

"Is that hard to believe or something?" Emerald looked a little annoyed for a moment. "Just because I'm doing what I'm doing doesn't mean I can't be loyal. I'd follow Cinder to the ends of Remnant. She means the world to me."

"Why are you telling me all this?"

"You're smart. You're not the strongest but it's easier to train someone up than it is to find someone with your kind of intellect. We lost Mercury recently, but I wasn't too bothered by that. He was never loyal to Cinder. But you… I think you could be." Emerald leaned forward a little. "I'm not meant to say anything, but I think Cinder wants to bring you into the fold."

"M-Me?" he stammered. They wanted to recruit him more than he already was? Jaune's mind boggled. This was far deeper than Oobleck had ever expected him to go in his undercover work, and now lacking the man's guidance, he had no idea what to say or so.

Luckily, he didn't have to.

"Indeed," a darker, richer voice said from behind them. "And I thought I told you not to say anything, Emerald."

"Cinder?" Emerald yelped. "I- I'm sorry."

The woman chuckled softly. "It doesn't matter. I should have expected you to be excited. Still, Emerald speaks the truth, John. You've proven yourself quite capable; more so than Mercury ever was."

"I-I'm honoured, ma'am."

"We shall see. I can be a much more understanding person to follow than Roman, and I don't get quite so offended when those beneath me perform well, even if that shines a poor light on my own performance. I'm not one to become _jealous_ if you do well." Her smile said she was thinking of Roman, if the words didn't do that enough. "I can also pay you well, either in lien or whatever else you might desire."

Whatever else? She didn't elaborate on her dark promise and he felt Emerald bristle beside him. Their legs were still touching and that allowed him to feel her muscles tense.

"So, John. What do you say?"

"I… I don't know." It was the truth, but the truth was not always the best answer. Emerald tensed even further, and Cinder's eyes narrowed in what could only be disappointment. He hurried to assure them. "It's not that I don't want to, but I don't know anything about what you want or do," he explained. "I don't want to say yes, join you, then find out I can't do what you ask. You'd have to kill me to keep things hidden and… well…" He trailed off.

"You want to know more about us?"

Jaune nodded.

"Hm, that is fair. As you say, it would be foolish to agree to our terms without knowing what they are. I hope you understand if I cannot tell you everything." She waited for his nod. "Come with me. Emerald, too. I'll explain in a more private setting, and then I'll give you a little time to make your decision. Rest assured, you won't be punished for saying no."

Cinder brought the two of them to a different room to the first, and what actually seemed to be sleeping quarters of some kind. There was a large bed in the centre and he wondered if it was hers. If so, she didn't say, and he didn't trust his and Yang's skill enough for an assassination.

It might have been a test, too. Cinder was too cautious to give away information like this, and now that he looked closely he could see that the bed was a little _too_ neat, a little too unruffled. No one had slept here last night, or for some time.

Cinder sat on the edge of the bed while Emerald leaned on the wall by the door. Jaune took a seat by the dresser, more a stool without a back. It was uncomfortable but gave him the best range of movement if something went wrong. He didn't expect it to, and wasn't sure he could escape if it did, but Blake was somewhere outside, watching, and Yang was on call.

"I'll keep to the basics and try not to confuse you," Cinder said. "Once you make your decision, I might be able to tell you more."

"I understand."

"Good. The tale starts a few years ago, I suppose. I, Emerald and Mercury were returning from a little job when we were accosted by a stranger on a dark path." She paused to laugh at his expression. "And yes, I realise this sounds like a simple tale of fantasy, but I can assure you it is true. One thing you need to understand is that I was entrusted with a great power some time ago."

"Power?"

"Power," she confirmed. Her eyes flickered with golden fire and Jaune almost yelped in surprise. That was _not_ normal. He'd never seen anyone look like that. "This is a power I have, and something that belongs to me. I cannot tell you more, but it is something coveted by many people."

He sensed no lie in her words, which was odd given how fanciful the story was. Then again, how could he deny what he saw with his own eyes? He nodded and continued to listen, looking carefully for any inflection in her voice, any hitch that might suggest her words as anything other than the truth. There were none.

"This power can be passed down through select individuals, always women. The figure that we ran into fought with us and it was a battle to determine who would inherit this power for themselves. I was victorious. I defeated her. It should have ended there, but it did not."

"Some of the power – my power – resides within her. It would have been mine entirely had she died, but our battle was interrupted. We were forced back, and a known individual took the girl away, hiding her. This huntsman works for Ozpin, the headmaster of Beacon. He _stole_ the girl away from me, locking away half of a power that is rightfully mine."

Again, no lie in her words. "And you want it back, I guess."

"I do, John. I most certainly do. It does not belong to him and he cannot even use it, being a man. Were she to die, naturally or otherwise, the power would come back to me, and the fact that it hasn't tells me she is still alive. That is a state unlike life, however. She was dying, John. Wherever she is, she is being kept in a state of neither life nor death and being kept that way to deny me what is rightfully mine."

"In truth, I have very little interest in Beacon," she said. "I'm only here because Ozpin interfered with me. Once I have what I want, I'll be gone. Unfortunately, it seems that Ozpin is unwilling to give up on this power, believing it his." She scowled. "The fool. He cannot use it, but I expect he is looking for a way to transfer it into someone who can. Even half of my power is substantial, and he is nothing if not a power-hungry man."

"How would he transfer it?"

"I have no idea, but there is little purpose keeping her alive if it's not for that reason. Ozpin draws my ire onto Beacon, onto children. I mentioned before that only women can inherit the power, but what I didn't mention was that it is only women of a certain age."

Jaune's eyes narrowed. "Young women?"

"Indeed. There is little reason to keep her in Beacon, especially when he knows I will come to reclaim my power. If Ozpin cannot use it, he will want someone who can, and he will want them to be loyal to him."

Ruby.

" _I want you to find out why Ozpin is interested in my sister."_

Yang's request burned in his mind, all the worse because _he_ wanted to know, too. Could this be it? Could this be Ozpin's angle? His memory flashed back to that time in the forest when both Oobleck and Vanguard still lived. He'd seen Ironwood deposit some great package to Beacon. If you were looking for someone who could somehow transfer power from one person to another, who better to ask than the most advanced Kingdom on Remnant.

Ruby would be loyal to Ozpin if asked. She was innocent and altruistic, but that could be a fault as much as a blessing. She didn't see the world like he, Yang or Blake did. She saw the world in black and white, while they saw it in a thousand hues of shadowed light.

If Ozpin wanted to manipulate Ruby, he almost certainly could.

"And what, theoretically, would happen to someone Ozpin transferred the power into?" he asked.

"Their destiny would be sealed. She and I would do battle. That is an inevitability that cannot be avoided. We would fight to the death and the winner would claim the power for herself. But you can rest assured, John, that it would not be a fair fight. I have spent a lot of time making sure I am one of the most powerful people on Remnant. I've also begun to master my power." She held a hand out and summoned a ball of flame within it.

The answer was painfully obvious, especially if Ruby or anyone else had to fight Cinder Fall.

They would die.

/-/

The large metal ramp slowly closed, taking with it the final sight of the giant feet of the Paladin. The unmarked but suspiciously well-armed civilian cargo container remained docked in the harbour, though one could easily notice how regimented and disciplined the normally unruly sailors on it looked.

"The Atlas Navy will take it from here, Agent. You've done well.

"Thank you, sir." Ciel saluted. "I apologise for any damage sustained in the transport."

"Complete destruction of the Paladin was expected, so I'm sure a little damage will be accepted. You did have to bring it all the way from Mountain Glenn."

"Yes, sir. Thank you." Ciel hesitated.

"Is there something you wished to ask?"

"The team I was with, sir."

"Ah, I understand. The team you were sent with safely made their return to Vale, though they were injured when the Grimm attacked the city. To the best of our knowledge, they have recovered."

Ciel breathed a sigh of relief.

"However, Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck did not."

She gasped. "W-What!?"

"I am sorry for the dark news," the man said. "Our Intel suggests he gave his life to seal the tunnel, saving potentially hundreds of lives at the expense of his own."

"I-I see." Ciel's eyes were wide and her heart ached. It was a good death, and yet even though she knew he would not regret it, she couldn't quite ignore the shock. Oobleck had trained her on an exchange program from the ASF. Now, he was gone. "What is to happen to me, sir? Am I to be recalled to Atlas?"

"I don't believe that is necessary, Agent. Suspicions would be raised if you failed to return to Beacon, and with the Vytal Festival approaching much of Atlas' student population will be coming to Vale regardless."

"I'm to maintain my cover, then?"

"Yes."

"Am I to assist the VSS in any way?"

"That is your decision. Consider yourself relieved of duties for the foreseeable future. You've served well and earned some rest."

"I can still work, sir."

"I'm sure you can, Agent, but too much attention will be on you after your _miraculous return_ to Beacon, safe and sound. Until you return to Atlas, we can't afford to draw more attention to you. If you wish to assist the VSS, feel free, but Atlas has no active operations in Vale."

And thus, there were no missions to give her. "I understand, sir. Thank you again."

"Yes, I-" The man paused as a call came through on his scroll. "Forgive me, Agent, but I think we're done here, so you may leave. Enjoy a little R&R, and the Festival. I'll see to the Paladin's safe transport to the homeland."

Ciel nodded and watched the man leave, speaking into his scroll as he did. Though it felt sad to leave the Paladin like this, the mission was done, and the navy could handle the rest. She really had hoped for a mission, though.

If only to distract her.

Oobleck…

"Jaune will know more," she realised, turning away. She would have to return to Beacon, and would no doubt be questioned by the headmaster, but once that was done she could find Jaune and wrangle out of him an explanation.

/-/

"Mystical powers and conspiracy theories?" Yang raised an eyebrow when Jaune recounted it for her. "You realise she was almost certainly lying."

"I didn't sense any deceit."

"You're still new to this, and she might have been using indirect truths."

"Maybe, but you have to admit it's possible."

"Do I?"

Jaune sighed and crossed his arms. "Are you honestly going to pretend conspiracy theories can't be real considering what we are, what we've seen and what's happening right now?"

"Jaune has a point," Blake said. "It sounds ridiculous, but the things we've seen are beyond normal. Headmaster Ozpin is interested in a fifteen-year-old girl for some reason and I doubt it's because of any deviant lust."

Yang glared at Blake for that, not quite thrilled with the suggestion Ozpin might like her little sister in that way. The three of them had reconvened in the same room Yang had taken him to before, except that this time he'd learned his lesson and brought Blake along. Yang didn't seem too upset about that, nor was she pleased. She'd simply nodded to Blake once and accepted her presence.

In a way, Yang didn't act all that different to how she normally did. She was a little more serious, but only because Ruby was involved. It wasn't the massive transformation Cardin to Vanguard had been, for instance. Yang just seemed to have a cover that closely matched her personality, which was understandable since Beacon was supposed to be her retirement.

"I once heard Ozpin talking about `relics`," Jaune said. "It was after I bugged his office on Oobleck's request."

Yang looked up, intrigued. "Is it still bugged?"

"No."

"He found it?"

"He must have. Oobleck told me not to try it again."

"Hm, probably didn't want to push his luck," Yang mused. "Makes sense. Ugh, this is annoying, though. I keep hoping this'll just be something about Uncle Qrow, or maybe Mom, but Ruby? Why does she have to be involved in this?"

"According to Jaune, Ozpin needs someone he can trust," Blake said.

"And that's Ruby?"

"Maybe. Your sister isn't exactly complicated."

"Hey," Yang complained, though there was no real heat to it. She could hardly deny something so fundamentally true. "Ruby's way of looking at things is what makes her special. I _like_ her this way. I don't want her to be jaded like everyone else."

Neither did he. Ruby's innocence was something he cherished and a big part of what drew him to her. It felt horribly shallow to say that, but he meant it in a nice way. It wasn't everything, and he liked her kindness more, her generosity and her personality, but it was the innocence which had caught his attention first.

If Ruby came into their world, he'd still care for her, but it would feel like something irreplaceable had been lost. He didn't want that.

"Can you think of any other reason why it would be Ruby?" Blake asked Yang. "You know her better than we do."

"I can't-" Yang bit her lip.

"Yang?"

"There is… no, I…" Her eyes closed, and she sighed. "I'll have to look into it a little more, but something comes to mind. I never thought it was real, though. It sounded silly."

"What?"

"Ruby's eyes," she said meaningfully.

Blake and Jaune shared a look.

"What about them?" Blake asked.

"They're silver."

"And…?"

"And that means something," Yang said, frustrated. "Look, I don't have everything, but I can try and find out. I'm still in the VSS, so I can use their resources. Let's just say that according to Ruby, the first thing Ozpin said when he saw her was that she had silver eyes."

It was an odd detail for sure, weirdly specific. Blake's eyes were an unusual shade of amber, too, but no one would have made that the first observation, nor the opening line in a conversation. Yang's eyes were lilac, unusual in their own right, and yet no one cared.

Remnant was replete with unusual eye colours – just look at Cinder, Emerald and Neo.

"What is it with silver eyes?" he asked. "Is there something special there?"

"I don't know. Maybe." Yang sighed. "The only thing I know is that Mom – Ruby's mom – also had silver eyes, and that she worked closely with Ozpin."

Blake's eyes narrowed. "How closely?"

"Utterly loyal to him. She was sent on dangerous missions – and missions Vale knew nothing about. Hell, not even the VSS had a damn thing on her. Believe me, I spent a long time looking and it's suspicious as hell. Summer had the same kind of deal as Uncle Qrow from what I can see; working for Ozpin and no one else."

A huntress with silver eyes, trained to be a loyal ally – and then lost. Ozpin didn't seem like the type to genuinely be cruel or callous, but on a purely utilitarian level, if you lost someone you relied on, you had to replace them.

"Is Ruby to be Summer's replacement?"

Yang growled. "Not if I have anything to say about it."

"Maybe we're being too trusting with this," Blake said, ever the voice of reason. "Are we really going to believe the word of a woman like Cinder? I know Jaune said he thought she was telling the truth, but there are ways to tell the truth and still lead someone to the wrong conclusion."

Jaune and Yang paused. "She has a point," Yang said.

"True, but the only person we can get the real answer from is Ozpin." Jaune sighed and sat down. "Unless you've got any ideas on how to go about that, I-" He trailed off. Yang was giving him a thoughtful look. "I don't like the way you're looking at me."

"There is _one_ possibility…"

"Am I going to like it?"

"No, and neither are you," Yang added, looking to Blake. "But you're already in a situation where you're stuck in the middle of this three-way war. The VSS expects you to throw your lot in with either Cinder or Ozpin. But why not both?"

"Both…?"

"Accept Cinder's offer," Yang explained. "Join her inner circle. Then go to Ozpin and tell him everything that's happened – how you were a spy for two or three months but now have second thoughts and are being hunted. Play the victim, the sob story, the young, impressionable child who needs guidance from a wise mentor."

Blake's eyes widened. "Because Jaune, like Ruby, was allowed into Beacon on suspicious terms. Ozpin has an interest in _both_ of you."

"And he'd _leap_ at the chance to get you," Yang said, grinning. "So, you've already gone undercover in Beacon, with Roman, and even Cinder Fall. Why not add the headmaster of Beacon to the list?"

Because it would be dangerous in the extreme and his luck would run out eventually – not to mention what reaction the VSS would have to seeing him cosying up to the last man on Remnant they wanted him near. There'd only been the one serious assassination attempt, but this might draw more.

But it would lead to answers, and they desperately needed those.

"Well, I guess it'll look good on my résumé…"

* * *

 **Our new dog – Kali – has learned to bite and also to explore, which means she now needs** _ **constant**_ **surveillance. She already chewed through the lead to my electric keyboard, which was luckily turned off (musical keyboard, not writing – so no damage to my fics, at least). Also the last word, resume, I had to copy paste in because I couldn't find the symbols, and the last time I did this for Pyrrha's weapons it went and wrote them on the site in the _weirdest_ font, despite that they looked perfectly okay in the DocX. We'll see if that nonsense repeats. **

**She's being a little terror, though, which is made all the worse because she discovered our pond today and it might as well be nirvana from her point of view. She can see the Koi carp and she is taking after Blake a little, because she NEEDS them.**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 27** **th** **May**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	42. Chapter 42

**Here we go**

* * *

 **Cover Art:** Kegi Springfield

 **Chapter 42**

* * *

"I see." Headmaster Ozpin lowered his hands from before his face, and if the man felt any shock at the things Jaune had just confessed, he hid them well. Then again, Yang had said Ozpin probably knew more than he was letting on. Things about the VSS, about them, about things they didn't understand. Perhaps this just confirmed it. "And how is it Miss Belladonna found herself involved in this?"

Jaune looked to Blake, still surprised she'd been willing to throw herself under the bus along with him. That hadn't been Yang's idea, more a sudden one by Blake, but he appreciated it nonetheless. It helped to deflect some of the attention by giving Ozpin two sets of eyes to focus on.

"I was once a part of the White Fang," Blake said. Her eyes narrowed when Ozpin showed no surprise. "But then, I suppose you already knew that."

"I did. I simply saw no reason to intervene, since it appeared that you desired a new life."

"Yes, I…" Blake sighed.

Jaune cut in. "I found out what Blake was, but… but I decided to keep it from the VSS."

Ozpin's eyes lit up, the first sign of some emotion behind the mask. "You placed your teammate before your duty?"

"Blake's my partner, my friend. I trusted her, but I knew the VSS wouldn't. Even if she wanted to move away from that life, they'd see her either as a threat or a hostage – someone they could interrogate and use as bait or a spy against the White Fang." Jaune reached out to touch Blake's elbow, and to her credit she managed to look suitably distressed. "I couldn't let that happen."

Realistically speaking, nothing of what he or she had said was a lie. Yang had been very firm on that, saying that to go in and lie to Ozpin's face would result in disaster. Instead, tell the truth, but twist it in a certain direction – omit key information and forget more, but under no circumstances tell a blatant untruth.

"I started to help Jaune in his missions," Blake said. "I felt I owed him."

"And all of this culminated in the Mountain Glenn mission, I suppose." Ozpin hummed and leaned forward. "Tell me what the mission was."

"It was to find and kill Torchwick, and Oobleck was in command." Jaune refrained from mentioning Ciel. Her secrets weren't for him to share. "Something went wrong, though. Oobleck was captured and we had to try and rescue him. Blake and I attacked in secret and managed to cause a diversion that set off the attack on Vale early. The rest you know, sir. I contacted Ruby and passed a message on to warn you all and the train hit Vale without the bombs, thanks to Blake, Pyrrha and Ren."

"And Bartholomew Oobleck sacrificed himself," Ozpin mused.

"He did." Jaune's voice choked for a moment, and that was no act. He swallowed his grief. "Sir, even though he was a part of the VSS, he did what he did to protect as many people as he could. Oobleck deserves nothing less than-"

"Our total respect, and he shall receive it, Mr Arc." Ozpin smiled. "Actions speak louder than words, and Oobleck's were the actions of a true hero, albeit the choice we wish no man or woman would have to make."

Jaune nodded. He wasn't sure if he could make the same choice. Right here, right now, his first instinct was that he could and would, but talk was easy – talk in your head even more so. Come the hour, come the man, and he had no idea what kind of man he'd be.

"The VSS gave me a mission to sacrifice myself," he admitted. "To sacrifice myself and my whole team. They wanted me to take out the train and ground it before it could reach Vale, but that would have killed _everyone_ on board, Oobleck, the White Fang and my team included. I… I couldn't do it."

"Is that why you have been cast out?"

"I think so. It's that and because they know I'm a loose end, and that I might go to you, sir," he said, raising his head to stare Ozpin in the face. "They're afraid of you. My mission was to try and find things out about you. They're worried I'll confess and seek your protection, and to that end they're trying to get hold of me or kill me. Me and Blake," he added. "They've found out about her."

"The paramedics at the Breach," Ozpin said, nodding. "I see. And, in their impatience, they've only served to push you directly into the hands of the one they wished to keep you from."

The two of them nodded.

"We don't know what to do," Blake whispered. "Oobleck always gave Jaune his orders and we never had to think of something to do on our own."

"It's just the two of us," Jaune added. "We can't stand up against the VSS. They'll find us eventually, and they might even hurt Pyrrha and Ren to get to us. Blake and I talked. We realised we couldn't sit around and pretend this wasn't happening. We had to do something."

"You were the only option," Blake said. "No one else could help us."

And that was it, the moment of truth. Ozpin had to know accepting their story and promising to look after them would lead him to conflict with the VSS, but they'd already told him the VSS were after him. If he said no, there was precious little they could do. But Yang was all but certain he wouldn't. After all, why throw away such useful tools?

"It is not Beacon's policy to involve itself in political affairs…"

Jaune didn't believe that for a second. If Ozpin didn't want to involve Beacon, he wouldn't have held that secretive meeting with Ironwood before term ever started, nor would he have brought the person here that Cinder was after. The man was a good liar, he'd give him that, but Jaune knew too much.

In the end, it was bargaining.

"I'll do anything," Jaune said. "I… I don't want to lose Beacon. I want to be a huntsman, not a spy."

"This is my life now," Blake echoed. "I, we, don't want to leave our team."

 _We're desperate,_ they both said. _We're so desperate and helpless, and we'd do anything to stay._ Oh, how easy to control them, to manipulate them, to have them do whatever Ozpin wanted. Maybe they were laying it on thick, but he honestly didn't think that was suspicious. Their situation genuinely was that bad. Even with Yang on their side, it really was the three of them versus the VSS. They needed the protection that might come from Ozpin.

"It's also not Beacon's policy to turn our back on its students, however. I will admit that this comes as something of a shock." Jaune didn't believe that for a second. "But whatever comes, we will stand by our students at all times."

Jaune sagged with obvious relief. "Thank you, sir."

"It will not be as simple as my saying that, however." Ozpin went on. "The risk to the two of you appears to be very high, so I'll have to ask that you remain in Beacon at all times, or, if you need to go to the city, that you let me know and arrange for an escort in advance. I can do little to protect you if you are taken off the streets of Vale."

That might cause problems, especially when Cinder wanted him to meet with her or do missions, but he nodded either way. He'd been sneaking off Beacon for weeks now, and while it would probably be a little harder with Ozpin's attention on him, he was sure they could find a way.

"We'll also have to consider what to do when the Vytal Festival comes around. Amity Colosseum will be filled with spectators, which means there will be plenty of opportunities for someone to harm the two of you."

"We understand," he said, speaking for the two of them.

"And finally, I'd like to ask what information you were already able to find out with regards to me – and what was passed onto the VSS."

"I prepared a file," Jaune said, pulling out a pen drive and pushing it onto the table. Ozpin took it with a raised eyebrow. "Oobleck warned me I'd be in trouble for disobeying orders before he died. He told me to access his terminal before he was frozen out of it." Another dose of the truth, but now, his one and only lie. "I decided to download everything the VSS had on you, sir, since I knew it would help prove our words."

He ducked his head as he said it, eyes on the floor to hide them. In truth, Yang had downloaded that information, and they'd edited it heavily, removing any information about the meeting with Ironwood or the bugs Jaune had placed in the man's office. It also held no information on the `Relics` Ozpin had mentioned before, or the information he'd gotten from Cinder. It was highly edited and mostly faked, giving the idea that he'd tried – and failed – to find anything too incriminating on the headmaster. It was the only real falsehood he'd told him, and just as Yang suggested he'd saved it for last.

" _If you want to lie to someone, then it's best to distract them first. Hit them with the truth and as much of it as you can. Give them a thousand different things to think of, and then drop a single lie at the end while they're too lost in thought to catch it."_

Ozpin nodded distractedly and considered the drive in his hand. Jaune doubted it would get into the man's terminal, that being too much of a risk if Jaune had hidden a virus in it. Either way, the drive itself was unimportant. It was just the fact they showed willingness to betray the VSS that was the main thing.

"Thank you, Mr Arc, and you, Miss Belladonna. I'll personally see that we take all steps we can to protect you and your team. And I want to thank you for coming to me with this, as well. I know it can't have been easy to face me, but you should always feel as though you can come to any of the faculty here at Beacon. Our first priority will always be to the wellbeing of our students."

It sounded so nice, but if that were true then why keep Cinder's target here, and why stay here when you knew dangerous people were interested in what you had. Ozpin might genuinely have cared about them – and Jaune thought he really did – but calling it his priority? No, that was a lie. Their wellbeing was a secondary, or maybe even a tertiary concern.

"Thank you, sir. Is there anything else you wanted from us?"

"Not of yet, no. Should the VSS attempt to contact you, I'd ask you to come to me immediately, even if they offer peace or forgiveness. I'd rather be safe than sorry with this. I hope you understand."

"I do," he said, and when Blake nodded he quickly added, "We both do."

"Thank you," Blake whispered.

/-/

"What do you think?" Ozpin asked.

"I think I'll have more of a thought when I know what's on that drive," Qrow said, stepping out from the shadows. The huntsman had been a bird only moments before, stood on the open rim of a window. They'd been in a meeting before Mr Arc and Miss Belladonna arrived. "Not like you didn't know they were after you, though."

"No, but neither did I realise they were so interested."

"You've been careless."

Ozpin rolled his eyes at Qrow's obvious mirth. "Or you have," he countered. "I suppose we'll have to wait and see what this contains."

"Yeah." Qrow sighed. "What about those two?"

"Mr Arc and Miss Belladonna? What of them?"

"You _do_ intend to look after them, right?"

"Of course I do. I would not have offered if I didn't care for their wellbeing. Keep an eye on them for me, won't you? I fear the VSS will wait until I am busy before they strike. As much as I promised to look after them, I cannot be everywhere at once."

"Hm, I guess not. VSS is going to be keeping an eye on you." Qrow sighed and took a long swig of booze. "I didn't intend to spend much time in Vale, though. Might be difficult."

"I think you should come back."

"Oh? So soon? I thought you wanted me searching up until the festival started."

"Circumstances have changed. You heard of the recent attack."

"Hard not to. I heard Ruby was involved."

"She came out in one piece."

"I know. I checked up on them earlier. So, you want me to stay here. As what, exactly? It's a little early for guests to be showing up and I don't doubt those lot aren't aware of me. They probably have a file on me as big as they do you."

Ozpin picked up the drive. "We'll see soon enough."

/-/

Yang flicked off the receiver and leaned back in her seat. She let out a long sigh.

"Nothing much revealed," Jaune said. "Good work on planting it, Blake. Where did you put it?"

"Under my seat. He was too focused on you. You're right, though, we didn't get much of anything from that. Who was the man talking to him?"

"That was my Uncle Qrow," Yang sighed. The blonde looked frustrated. "And here I was hoping I'd be wrong, but, well, that was stupid of me. I already knew he and Ozpin were working together. I just hoped it wasn't like this."

"What do you mean?"

"I guess I kind of hoped they'd just talk about how bad it is you two are in trouble and how much of a shock it was. That they wouldn't be acting like this is totally normal and expected. Long shot, I know," Yang added with a bitter laugh. "But I just hoped we'd be proven wrong and that my own Uncle isn't involved in government conspiracies."

Jaune nodded, not quite feeling as sympathetic but at least understanding her problem. It would have been a lot harder for him as well if a member of his family were involved. "Qrow might not know everything," he said. "He might be misled, or just doing what he thinks is right."

"I know that, but… it means he knows what Ozpin wants Ruby for, and he's not against it."

"Then maybe it's nothing bad," Blake suggested. "You said your uncle was a good man, so maybe whatever Ozpin had in store for Ruby is something he feels won't hurt her."

"Maybe…"

"You don't sound convinced," Jaune said.

"It's because I'm not." Yang bit her lip. "Some of the things I found out early on, they… well…" She shook her head. "Maybe I'm overthinking it. Either way, if Uncle Qrow is going to be keeping an eye on you, you'll need to be careful not to do anything suspicious."

"Does that include meeting with you?"

"Like this, yeah. I'll contact your scroll if we need to talk, but we'll need a cover story if we all want to hook up again like this. Keep your heads low and make sure to respond to any messages Ozpin sends you."

"What will you be doing?" Blake asked.

"I'll be keeping an eye on the VSS and checking what their reaction to this is going to be."

"You think they know?" Jaune asked. "Already…?"

"Probably not right now, but they will after a day or two. Shit is going to hit the fan and I'd best make sure it doesn't spray on any of us." Yang stood and cracked her back, arms stretched above her head. "Well, we did what we had to do. The rest is just seeing what their next step is and planning for it. If you two can get close to Ozpin, you can find out what he wants Ruby for. I'll keep an eye on her, too. Ruby can't keep a secret when it comes to me."

"What of Cinder?"

"Do what you've always done. Play nice and do whatever she wants, within reason. I'm not Oobleck and I can't give you the right answer every time. This is _your_ life now." She tapped his chest as she walked by. "Not much point breaking off from the VSS if you expect me to order you around. I'll help, but I can't help too much, or I'll be killed off, too." She reached the door and waved back. "See you later."

The door shut behind her.

Blake sighed. "I can't believe she's as annoying as a spy as she is normally. I'd have thought the way she acted was a mask, but it's the opposite."

"I guess it takes all types."

"I wouldn't have complained were she a little more professional."

"If she were a little more professional, we'd be dead," he pointed out. Blake sighed and looked away. It was still a bizarre feeling to know they were being hunted, especially because it didn't feel like it. They weren't hiding in strange hotels, dodging the law or engaging in epic movie chases. They were sat here in Beacon, where _everyone_ knew they would be, and where everyone even knew exactly where they slept and ate.

It was more like they were diplomatic runaways than actual ones, now reliant on the goodwill of Ozpin to keep the VSS away, but with both sides knowing it was a fake peace. Blake and he could fall ill of any number of `unfortunate accidents` while they were here. It would protect the VSS' secrets, and Ozpin wouldn't have a leg to stand on if he tried to accuse them of anything.

How many more students in Beacon were VSS or affiliated in some way? Should he have been looking for Magician, either to ascertain her loyalty or force her to be silent? Before, Oobleck would have had all the answers. Now, he had to figure them out on his own.

Or not entirely on his own, he considered, with a glance to Blake. They were shoulder-deep in this together. "Got any ideas?" he asked. "I'd be open for one right about now."

Blake smirked. "Funny. I was about to ask you the same."

/-/

Ruby perked up as someone knocked on their team's door. She glanced to Weiss, wondering if the heiress was going to answer, but her teammate was nose deep in a book and Nora was listening to music on her bed, feet kicked up in the air behind her. Penny looked confused (and was a guest, anyway) and Yang waved a hand to make it clear she wasn't going to wave a muscle.

With a sigh, Ruby stood and went to deal with it herself. Who could it be? They'd not done anything to warrant the attention of the teachers – unless Nora had, which was always a possibility, but she was sure she'd kept an eye on her today.

Could it be Team ABRN? A certain blond's face flashed through her mind and she opened the door quicker than she really needed to. "Hey- oh…" It wasn't Jaune. It took a second for her to realise who it was, and her eyes widened when she did. "Uncle Qrow!"

"Hey squirt." One of his big hands came out to ruffle her hair. "I was hurt for a moment there. Sounded like you were hoping it'd be someone else."

"Maybe her boyfriend," Yang drawled from within.

Ruby froze.

Qrow tilted his head. "Boyfriend…?"

"She's lying!" Ruby yelped. "I don't have a boyfriend."

"Hm." Qrow grinned. "Girlfriend, then?"

"Uncle Qrow!"

"Hey, I won't judge. Mind if I come in, squirt?"

Ruby stepped back and gestured for him to come in after a quick check to make sure everyone was dressed. Uncle or not, she didn't think Weiss would appreciate a strange older man seeing her in her sleeping clothes. Luckily, it wasn't that late, and everyone was dressed. "What are you doing here, Uncle Qrow?" she asked. "I thought you'd be out doing cool huntsman stuff."

"Everyone has to take a break from being cool once in a while."

"How long has your break from it been now, Uncle?" Yang asked, reading a comic on her bed. "Ten years, fifteen?"

"Whoa, whoa, I'm still cool! Don't tell me you're learning to be sassy out here, Firecracker."

"Just saying it like it is."

"Brat." Qrow stole a pillow off Ruby's bed and threw it accurately into Yang's face, knocking her over. "Anyway, I'm down here up until the festival comes along, and I'll be watching it from the stands. You better do well, Ruby." He caught the pillow Yang sent back at his head. "You too, Firecracker."

"We'll do as well as we'll do," Yang said.

"I could do better with some one-to-one training," Ruby added excitedly.

Qrow, like always, looked away. "I dunno…"

"Please! Pleeeaseee… Pretty please with a strawberry on top!"

"I'll think about it." He laughed when Ruby folded her arms and pouted. "No, seriously, I'll think about it, I promise."

"You always say that."

"And I always think about it!"

"You always say no."

"Because I'm busy, squirt." He rubbed her head. "I've more free time now, though. I'll see what I can do, okay? I promise."

Well, Uncle Qrow had never gone back on an actual promise. Ruby nodded warily. She really did want that training, especially if she wanted to prove how good their team was in the festival. As Weiss kept saying, they'd have to face off against Pyrrha sooner or later. Yang had joked that the only chance she had of beating the Invincible Girl was if she snuck into their room and gave Pyrrha laxatives. She'd then offered to do just that, though Weiss said it was a stupid idea on account of how Yang couldn't sneak around if her life depended on it. Yang just laughed.

"What brings you here, old man?" Yang asked. "And don't say the festival. I mean what brings you _here_ , as in a dorm room for four young and beautiful girls."

"Just checking up on my nieces, Firecracker. That illegal now?"

"Not illegal, just odd. You never bothered to do so before."

"Hey, that makes me sound neglectful. You hadn't been through a terrorist attack before, let alone a Grimm invasion that could have killed hundreds of people." Qrow noticed Ruby's face fall and quickly changed tacks. "And from what I'm told, you did great. Good job, you two."

Ruby smiled weakly. "Thanks."

Her heart wasn't really in it, nor had it been at the time. Fighting Grimm and saving people had always been her dream, but that was when the world was a lot more black and white. In her head, thieves and criminals existed, but they did normal stuff like robbing dust stores. They didn't try to smuggle Grimm into Vale and kill so many people. _I wanted to be a hero like mom and kill monsters, not fight against people._

Yang had listened to that and told her that some people could be worse than monsters, but that hadn't helped her much. It just made her feel even more nervous. Grimm could be easily distinguished as evil and there was no doubt involved in killing them, but would she one day have to look at an actual person and decide whether to swing her scythe? She didn't like the sound of that.

"I also wanted to check up on something that happened there," Qrow said, drawing her attention back to the present. "I was speaking with Ozpin before and he mentioned how two weird guys approached you and tried to take your friends away."

"Yeah." Ruby's eyes narrowed. "They wanted Jaune."

"And Blake, I recall," Weiss added with just a hint of amusement.

Ruby's cheeks coloured immediately. "And Blake," she accepted with a wince.

"Jaune?" Qrow raised an eyebrow and smirked at her. Crud! He totally knew. Double crud! "So, is this the mysterious boyfriend Yang mentioned earlier? I think I should meet the young man after my niece's heart. Or her purity."

Ruby imagined what that might end up like.

"You can't!"

"I can't?" Qrow's grin grew. "Is that a challenge?"

"I mean you shouldn't," she gasped. "Qrow, please no, don't. I… we're not like that. He turned me down."

The smile fell. "He did what? Now I _really_ think I need to meet him."

"He didn't turn you down, Ruby," Yang said with a heavy sigh. "He said to give him time to think, and I know because I literally saw the two of you about to make out in the corridor, so don't give me that `turned you down` nonsense."

If Ruby's face had been red before, it was on the verge of an explosion now, with heat creeping down her neck and making it look like her skin had fused with her outfit. Damn it, Yang. She'd only told Uncle Qrow that to make him _not_ want to meet Jaune. Hello? Did Yang even understand what lying was?

"Sounds like you're already well on the way to dating him," Qrow mumbled.

Ruby paused. Her uncle didn't seem happy about that, and not even in his usual, jokey manner. His face was stern and his eyes distant, and she couldn't help but notice the way his lips turned down. Her stomach churned. "Is there… Is there something wrong with that?" she asked.

"Huh?" He blinked, saw her fear and backtracked quickly. "No, no, no, your life is yours to live. I was just thinking of something else, something totally unrelated." He laughed and rubbed her head once more. "I know from dealing with your mom how feelings can't be ignored. Just be careful, alright? If some people are after him for whatever reason, I don't want you to get dragged into trouble."

"That's what he said," she whispered. He heard her.

"Then maybe this kid has more of a head on his shoulders than I thought. I really should meet him, but I'll wait for you to introduce him to me," he added, earning a long sigh of relief from her. "Just be careful, eh? Don't get into anything you're not sure about. You can always take your times, and sometimes rushing something with a friend can end up hurting a friendship. Since he's the team leader, it might get between the friendship your team has with his."

That was true, and Ruby's spirits dipped a little further. Did she want to risk their friendship on this? Was it right to do so when the whole team would be affected?

And wait, when had she said Jaune was the leader of his team?

"Well, I've got to go but I'll catch up some more later," Qrow said. "I'll also give you a spar or two, and some pointers. I promise." He stood and patted her head once more and raised a hand to Yang as he left. "See you later too, Firecracker. Don't do anything I'd have done at your age."

"Like stay a virgin?"

Qrow stumbled and walked into the doorframe. "I didn't- Ugh, don't get cocky, niece of mine. I can spar with you, too, and I'm not so old I can't knock you around the ring if I feel like it." Even saying so, Qrow couldn't help but laugh at being upstaged. "Alright, see you two around."

The door closed behind him. Ruby sighed the moment he was gone and stood in the open space before the door uncertainly. Qrow's words stuck in her head, even if he hadn't planned for them to. Would it really be better to hold back and just stay friends with Jaune?

A hand fell on her shoulder. "Hey," Yang said, grinning. "That's a deep look. Don't tell me you dropped some cookies down a well."

Ruby giggled. "Only the well that's my stomach." Her smile faded. "Do you think Uncle Qrow is right? Even Jaune said he wasn't sure and that we should think about it. Was that his way of being polite and saying no without hurting my feelings?"

Was he expecting her to understand that and walk away, staying just friends?

"No," Yang said, flicking her nose. "No, it wasn't."

"But-"

"But nothing, sis. I know guys, so trust me when I say the way he looked at you made it clear _interest_ was not a problem. And don't listen to anything your Uncle Qrow says, either. Don't let anyone tell you what to do, me included. This is your life and your heart." She poked Ruby's left breast, right over her heart. "There isn't no one that can tell you who to like and who to fall for – only you, and sometimes you don't get a choice in it either. If your heart is telling you Jaune is a good choice, then go for it. Do whatever makes _you_ happy."

Ruby's eyes watered, and she wrapped her arms around her sister, welcoming the warmth that came when Yang returned the hug. "Thanks Yang."

"No probs, sis."

"Why do you think Uncle Qrow was so against it, though? He doesn't even know Jaune."

Yang sighed. "I'm sure he has his reasons, Rubes, just as I'm sure he thinks those reasons are right, or that they give him the right to try and push you in a certain direction." She felt Yang's blonde locks tickle her face as her sister glared at the door. "But reasons or not, this isn't about him and what he thinks. He shouldn't be letting his problems interfere with your life."

Yang sounded so serious, so upset, that Ruby couldn't help but look up. "Yang?"

"Nothing, sis." The look was gone, replaced once more with a smile that was too immediate to be real. "Just lost in thought. Now, don't think this means Jaune's goy my approval, or that he won't get the big sister talk. Nora will help me with that, right?"

"I'll break his legs," Nora replied dutifully.

"Atta girl!"

"I can break his legs too," Penny added. "I'm boyfriend-breaking ready."

Ruby laughed as Weiss dropped her book and asked if they could _please_ talk about something else than a scraggly, blond dork. It helped to lighten the mood, especially when Yang responded with a pillow straight to the heiress' face.

Still, she couldn't quite forget the distant look on Yang's face. Something was happening, and whatever it was, it involved some of the people she loved most in the world – her sister, her uncle, and maybe even Jaune. They were all trying to keep her out of it, no doubt because they cared for her and didn't want to see her hurt, even if it meant taking that pain onto themselves.

Ruby hated it. She hated watching them pretend not to suffer.

And she hated that the only way she could make them feel better, the only way she could validate their bizarre sacrifice, was to pretend that she'd fallen for it.

/-/

"Ciel Soleil?"

"Hm?" Ciel looked up from the Bullhead check-in desk and toward the suited man stood a few paces to her left. He looked non-descript, like any business man about to book a short flight for some affair. He was well-shaven and wore a casually friendly smile. He knew her name, though, so she knew better than to fall for any of that. "Yes, that is me. Can I help you?"

"I hope so, Miss Soleil. I'm from the Vale branch of your father's company." The code was simple and familiar and Ciel's eyes widened.

"Ah, I see. Human resources, I suppose?"

"Yes."

"Well, how I can help you?"

"May I ask where you were headed, Miss Soleil? Perhaps we can talk en route."

"I was on my way to Beacon to join the team I've been assigned as a transfer to." She noticed his smile fall just a fraction of an inch. It was telling."Of course, I could delay that a little for matters related to business."

"I would really appreciate it if you could, Miss Soleil."

"Of course, and call me Ciel. We're colleagues, after all. Is this a matter for private?"

"Yes. I have a car waiting outside if you'd join me. You will, of course, be offered full compensation and accommodation. I do hate to intrude on your affairs like this." The man kept his hands outside of his jacket, away from any potential weapons. The words were simple enough to any who might have been listening in, but to those in the industry he said more. Specifically, an assurance as to her safety, and a promise that nothing ill would happen to her in his care, all due to the ASF's alliance with the VSS. He couldn't _order_ her to do anything, but in the interests of their continued relationship, both sides would do what they could to help the other. Within reason.

"Lead on."

The Agent led her to a black car waiting outside, marked and established as a company car for some make-believing business, no doubt. Nothing was unmarked or tinted, and the windows could easily be seen through, the better to raise no suspicions. The man climbed into the back with her and offered some refreshments, of which she accepted some bottled mineral water and a packet of peanuts.

"I expect you can't tell me anything here?"

"I'm afraid not, Ciel."

"Can I at least ask what this is in regard to?"

"Your previous mission in Mountain Glenn. Our friends in the ASF told us the Paladin has safely reached Atlas and been reclaimed."

Ciel smiled. "Thank goodness. The VSS has our thanks for its assistance with that matter. We won't forget your aid."

"Such a weapon in the hands of an enemy like Torchwick is cause for concern for us. It was our pleasure to assist Atlas in the matter." He smiled and nodded politely, not once showing what he no doubt felt inside. Neither Ciel nor the ASF were naïve enough to think the VSS had helped out of the goodness of their hearts. It would have been an insult to think otherwise.

Atlas was a world leader when it came to technology, and much of their latest was stored in the Paladin. Vale would have loved nothing more than to crack it open and root around inside. It could have sped up their own research by a few years at least. Of course, neither of them said that and both smiled pleasantly at the other, as their roles demanded.

"I also heard about the loss of Director Oobleck," Ciel said. "All of the VSS has our condolences. He was a good man."

He nodded. "Thank you, and he was. His loss has been felt by many. He also helped to reduce the damage caused by the terrorist attack we've termed `The Breach`. Did your handler inform you about that?"

"Vague details only. I don't have specific numbers or facts."

"I'll fill you in as we reach the HQ," he offered. "But first, I just need to ask, have you been in contact with your colleague, lately?"

"My colleague…?"

"My apologies. I meant Jaune Arc, your colleague within Beacon."

"Ah." Ciel made a sound of understanding. "No, not yet. I thought it might raise eyebrows if I met with him before seeing Ozpin. As far as everyone is concerned, I should be limping back to Beacon a miraculous survivor, not stopping to talk with teammates en route."

"Understandable. So, you haven't been in contact with him?"

"No. Why?"

"That is perhaps better explained at the HQ," The VSS Agent said pleasantly. Ciel didn't fail to notice how the man in the front seat adjusted his rear-view mirror to keep her in view, nor how the doors suddenly locked. She hid her nerves easily, trusting that her position in the ASF would make her all but immune to anything they might say or do, but still, her heart beat a little faster.

 _Damn it, Jaune. What the hell have you dragged me into this time?_

* * *

 **Uh-oh. The VSS is making moves and Ruby isn't as naïve as she lets on. Meanwhile, Qrow gets involved and Yang doesn't approve of his methods. All of this with the Festival dawning behind it and Cinder's plans reaching fruition.**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 3** **rd** **June**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	43. Chapter 43

**Okay, this is a little shorter than usual. Why? Because when I told you all I had this week off due to work, I messed up and forgot that I also had** _ **today**_ **for work, too. I have to go to an awards dinner tonight and present one of the awards, as well as schmooze prior to the expo. If I was just there as a guest I could (and would) skip the boring thing, but I'm not. Ugh.**

 **Anyway, rather than just post a notice with no chapter, I decided to write what I could in limited time.**

* * *

 **Cover Art:** Kegi Springfield

 **Chapter 43**

* * *

Jaune sagged after the team's latest training session, falling onto his rear and gasping for breath. He waved a hand when Pyrrha offered her own to help him up. "Let me sit here for a bit," he heaved. "I can't stand right now." Rather than be offended, Pyrrha laughed and sat down next to him. The champion was out of breath but that really was the only thing he had for his pride, her aura being just about full and there not being a single bruise upon her.

"You did much better, Jaune. You actually pushed me."

 _Yeah, pushed you to work a little harder. I didn't push you anywhere near being in danger._ Back at the start of Beacon that would have almost certainly led to a surge of jealous anger, or maybe just envious frustration. It didn't bother him now, partly because he had much bigger things to worry about, but mostly – he liked to think – because he'd grown up a little and realised just how silly it was to be envious of a friend like that. Pyrrha hadn't been `granted` her skill, she'd worked her ass off for it. He might catch up in time, but it would take time – in the same way it had taken her years to reach this level.

The team training had been his idea considering the Vytal Festival was now merely days away. Ever since Blake and he had thrown their lot in with Ozpin, they'd been walking around on their tiptoes, waiting for an attack. That was a week and a half ago now, and no such assault had come. The VSS had to know by now, but they were watching their back, chasing loose ends, or maybe just preparing for the two of them to be more vulnerable.

Ozpin seemed to think it was the latter, and suggested they focus only on the upcoming festival and on having fun. It was one of those ridiculous things, kind of like a parent saying "think of something else" when a dentist was wrenching your tooth out.

Still, they'd tried, and as the days ticked by without incident, they started to relax. It helped that Yang, still being a loyal VSS agent (allegedly, anyway) kept an eye on the database. While there were no specific orders to leave them be or bide their time, she told them that when she'd asked whether she should make a move on them, the response had been a resounding `no`.

Not a `No, we're leaving them` or a `No, it's not worth it`, but a mysterious `no` with little extra added when Yang had asked why. Yang told them it was almost certainly a `not yet` and that they shouldn't let their guard down.

If there was going to be an attack it would be at the Vytal Festival, thus their current hardcore training.

"I hate to say it, but I wonder if fighting against me really helps your training," Pyrrha said as they watched Blake and Ren dart around the grassy field. Those two were evenly matched, not just in skill but also in their fighting styles, leading to an acrobatic display where both hopped around like rabbits on speed.

"Because you beat me too easily?"

"I-I wouldn't say that…" Pyrrha, as always, was too nice for her own good.

"I'm not upset," he assured her. "Just say what you need to. I won't be offended."

"Well, I just wonder that you might be learning bad habits. Your offence is a lot better than you think it is, but I'm worried that just because it doesn't work on me, you'll start to instinctively favour a more defensive style."

"You think I'll assume everyone is as strong as you and start to doubt my own skills?"

Pyrrha shifted awkwardly. It _sounded_ arrogant, and she no doubt struggled with that, but it really wasn't. Pyrrha genuinely was head and shoulders above the rest of their year, so he could see where she was coming from. There was an old saying about people who tested themselves against the best always being crushed. It was all about context, he supposed. Even Yang looked weak stood next to Pyrrha but take Pyrrha away and Yang was obviously one of the best in their year.

"Maybe Ren, Blake and I should spar against you," he suggested.

"I'm not sure I'm _that_ good."

"All the better. You could stand to learn how to fight when you're on the backfoot for once. When was the last time you had to do that?"

Pyrrha cupped her chin. She looked genuinely intrigued. "That's not a bad point…"

"We'll do that next time. I don't have the energy for it now and I doubt either of those two will with how fast they're moving." Jaune rolled his eyes as Pyrrha giggled, and the two watched their teammates spar come to a close. Blake managed to draw Ren into a trap using her ribbons and some upturned ground and came in for the finishing blow.

Ren, however, dropped both his weapons, caught Blake's wrist, looped the ribbon around her own neck and managed to bring her down into a submission hold.

"I yield," she gasped, patting the grass with one hand. When the ribbon about her neck loosened, she coughed. "How did you know where I'd attack? You shouldn't have had the time to react with how fast I was going."

"I knew where you'd strike," Ren said, smiling enigmatically. "That _trap_ of yours wasn't a trap. I let myself be herded into it, knowing there was only one way you could use it."

Blake rolled her eyes but accepted her defeat, and Ren's offered hand, graciously. There were times – quite a lot of them, in truth – where Jaune thought Ren would have made a better spy than he. The man was quiet, sneaky and intelligent to a fault. To be able to analyse the situation, the battlefield and an opponent so quickly in the heat of battle? That was insane, even before you considered having to make up a plan and enact it while dodging bullets and blows from a fast opponent.

"Alright, Team ABRN," Jaune called once they were back. Still exhausted, his voice came out a little hoarse, but he forced himself to do his leader duties. "What have we learned from this session? Where do we need to improve?"

"I need to work on my stamina," Ren said.

"Awareness and planning for me," Blake sighed.

"Everything here," Jaune laughed.

Pyrrha shuffled. "My gunplay?"

Ren bit back on a laugh and Pyrrha's cheeks flushed. None of them bothered to point out that she didn't need to improve on anything, though. She was embarrassed enough as it was. "Right, well now that we know what we're working on, I guess we'll do another training session tomorrow. Same time?"

They all agreed and Ren and Pyrrha left to meet up with Ruby and the other members of Team RYWN, who they'd agreed to play Remnant with in the library. Jaune remained to catch his breath and Blake ostensibly to help him out, even if by this point he was sure Pyrrha and Ren thought they were getting up to other things.

"Not a bad sudden turn of leadership," Blake complimented once they were alone. "It's good to see you take control with the festival coming up."

"I wouldn't call this leadership. All I'm doing is arranging training sessions. You lot do the sparring and analysis yourselves."

Blake shrugged. "It's good enough. He's here again by the way."

Jaune's smile fell. "Yang's Uncle?" He sighed when Blake nodded. "Where?"

"Up on the second-floor window, by the upper level to the library. He's gone now," she added when he tried to spot the huntsman. "He arrived early into our spar and watched until we were done. He left once you were doing your improvement speech."

"This is what, the fourth time he's watched us train?"

"Fifth, I think."

"Do you think he's catching us on anything?"

"I doubt it. We're not doing anything we shouldn't be doing." Blake's eyes narrowed. "Any news from Cinder?"

"No. Or well, no news to do anything. I got a sit-rep from Emerald that basically said plans are in motion for the festival itself, and to keep low until then. I don't know what those plans are," he said, knowing it would be her next question.

"Hm. At least it means we don't have to try and sneak out of Beacon while he's keeping an eye on us. What about Ozpin? He invited you to his office last night. What did you do?"

"We played chess." When Blake looked like she was waiting for more, he sighed again. "That's all we did. We played three games of chess while Ozpin asked me about my dreams, goals and why I wanted to be a huntsman."

"Nothing related to the VSS?"

"Nothing."

"Odd. In some cultures, chess is seen as a substitute for war and strategy. Perhaps he was trying to teach you something."

He'd have believed that if the headmaster had done any teaching or pointed out his mistakes, but the man just kept beating him and resetting the board, never offering more than a hum or short comment between the matches. Jaune had come out of it none the wiser on the intricacies of the game than he had been at the start.

It was possible Ozpin was testing him, he supposed. Maybe he was trying to figure out if Jaune had any hidden tricks, or if he was one of those physically weak strategic genius types. If so, he must have been disappointed.

"He doesn't ask anything about you investigating him?"

"Not a thing…"

"That's just weird." Blake hummed and looked away. There really wasn't any understanding the man, and Yang didn't seem to have any idea, either. The best they could do was buckle down and hope for the best, be that Ozpin trusting them more or Cinder revealing something. Until then, all they could do was sit in Beacon and hope one of those happened before the VSS did.

It was the biggest dead end he'd faced to date, and it was driving him mad.

"Do you think he's still watching us even now?" he asked.

"First floor entrance by the cafeteria."

"Sheesh, talk about persistent."

/-/

Yang scowled and checked her scroll one last time. The VSS safehouse was empty, though she could tell people had been here recently, likely for the same job as she was now. The call had come suddenly and without warning, and Yang hadn't expected to be a part of it. Ironwood was landing in Vale, along with Winter Schnee and a host of other guests for the Vytal Festival. The possibility of an attack was low, but the potential fallout of one happening was too great to ignore.

The VSS was being mobilised in some force to provide security, even if most people in Vale wouldn't realise it. She'd have liked to turn the mission down, but this was one of those jobs you couldn't, and the last thing she wanted was to draw attention on herself and her already shaky loyalty.

Well, at least she'd managed to slip away before her team noticed.

The mission briefing was in her locker, atop the clothes she'd divested herself of. She had a location point, a route, a responsibility and a designation – her job little more than surveillance and muscle if things went bad, which, all things considered, it shouldn't. Everyone in the VSS knew that if something was going to happen, it would happen during the Festival.

"Better safe than sorry, I guess."

Her mask clicked on over her face, obscuring it. Her black coat covered her body. A knife slipped into carefully woven pockets on her outer thigh, and a gun slipped into her jacket, concealed from view. She was already suspicious as hell for the mask, but her point wasn't in the public view. If anyone was up where she was going to be, they'd be breaking the law to do it, and she'd be taking them down no questions asked.

Her scroll beeped, and she caught a last message from Ruby, asking her to pick something up on the way home. Yang chuckled and turned it off, not responding. A mission wasn't the kind of place to take her scroll, not if she wanted to avoid incriminating herself. She tossed it in the locker and shut the door.

"Sorry, Ruby. Duty calls."

/-/

Ruby frowned as her message to Yang didn't garner the desired response. Yang had headed off into Vale less than an hour ago, not even asking her if she wanted to come with, and just sending a lame message saying she was after dust for Ember Celica. Not like _she'd_ have liked to go shopping for dust, too. Pft. No way, don't bother asking your lovely little sister if she wants any.

Talk about rude.

" _Get me some red dust while you're there,"_ she'd sent back – and it was that message she stared at now. No response from Yang, nor even an apology for ditching them. Sure, they'd done their early morning training, but why was Yang in such a rush to head off to Vale?

"Not cool, Yang. Not cool."

"Hello friend Ruby."

"Hey Penny." Ruby sat up from the comfortable patch of grass she'd found outside and waved at her quasi-teammate. Her frustration at her sister faded easily. "Did you find out what's going to happen with you in the tournament? You're not going to be able to fight on our team, right?"

"I'm afraid not." Penny's face fell. "I'm supposed to fight with my team, which will be arriving today, but I've still not heard anything from Ciel."

"S-Still nothing…?"

It had been over two weeks now since the Mountain Glenn fiasco, and even though Jaune kept telling her Ciel would be okay, the longer it took for her to return, the more nervous Ruby felt. Penny was much the same, although she'd been just as confident as Jaune initially. It was like they knew something that she didn't, and Ruby had drawn her own confidence from their certainty.

Now, however, as time went on and Ciel continued to remain absent, even Penny's seemingly infallible confidence in her partner had started to fracture. The concern and fear had begun to come through.

Ruby had no idea what to say. Did she try and comfort Penny when they both knew it would be hollow? Did she offer to help, both knowing there was no way she could do so?

"Well, if there's anything I can do…"

"Thank you, friend Ruby." Penny smiled, even if the doubt was still there. "I'll be sure to come to you the moment I find anything. Mr Ironwood is coming this afternoon with my team. I am hoping he will be able to help."

"Maybe he will. Tell me if you get an answer."

"I will."

Ruby watched Penny go, letting out a long sigh once she was alone. _I wish there was more I could do to help her._ They just had no idea where Ciel was, nor the first idea of how to go about locating her. If she wasn't responding to her scroll, then there was nothing they could do. _I don't understand how Jaune can be so calm about it. Isn't she an old friend of his?_

She didn't think he would be so callous as to not care; that wasn't like him at all. There had to be something more to it – maybe that same something no one would tell her. Blake was definitely in the know, since she wasn't worried about Ciel, either. Pyrrha and Ren still were, and asked Miss Goodwitch every day if there was any news.

Her scroll beeped.

"Yang…?"

Ruby drew out her scroll and lazily held it before her, checking the message that was almost certainly a response to her messaging Yang to pick her up some dust. The moment she saw the screen, her eyes widened, and she dropped it altogether.

It wasn't Yang.

It was far worse.

 _Ruby, where on Remnant are you? You promised to come meet my sister with me when she landed. As my team leader, it's imperative you make a good first impression. If you tell me you're NOT on a Bullhead en route to Vale RIGHT NOW, I will be furious!_

No signature, not that it needed one with the caller ID and the tone. She'd promised Weiss this ages ago, and totally forgotten. Ruby scrambled to her feet and dashed back to her dorm.

"Weiss is going to _kill_ me!"

There was no time to get changed and she didn't have any better clothes to slip into. Ruby dusted off the loose strands of grass while she waited for the Bullhead at the Beacon docks, and then carefully tried to smooth her hair in the reflection of the window. Quite a few people would be gathering to see the dignitaries arrive, but that would be the general public. Since they'd be coming to Beacon anyway, the students might as well stay and wait.

Not Weiss, though. No siree. She had to make a good impression, and since _she_ was Weiss' team leader, she had to be there to meet her big sis in person. Ugh, talk about boring. It hardly helped that Ruby just _knew_ Weiss' big sis would be just as strict and stern as she was.

 _And here's me, looking like I've been wrestling in the grass. Great._

It was only the fear of what Weiss would say if she was late, or even worse, if she _missed_ it entirely, that forced her hand. The moment the Bullhead doors were open, Ruby was moving, first through the people filing out, then through the check-in station and into Vale. Weiss had said she'd meet her at the station, but she couldn't make her out.

"Come on, Weiss. Where are you?"

"Miss Rose?"

"Eh?" Ruby squeaked as she spun around, hand over her heart as she realised a very tall, very apologetic man was stood before her. "Um, excuse me," she said. "Were you talking to me?"

"I think so, and I apologise for startling you. You're Ruby Rose, correct?"

"I am." She didn't recognise him and leaned back a little. He was well-dressed with blond hair and an expensive suit. "Who are you?"

"My name is Beechson, Alfred Beechson. I am a retainer with the Schnee family, and Miss Schnee asked me to meet you here."

"Weiss did?"

"Winter Schnee," he corrected.

Ruby gasped. "Oh no, am I late? Did I miss Weiss?"

"I'm afraid so, Miss Rose. Winter Schnee has landed already and Miss Schnee – Weiss Schnee, that is – had to leave to attend to her. A message was passed onto us to collect you and transport you to meet with them."

Ruby trembled a little. She was _sure_ she still had time – positive! "Is Weiss angry?"

"I could not say, Miss Rose. Winter still wishes to meet with you, however. Please come with us and we shall take you to meet with them."

"Aren't they coming to Beacon? I thought that was their next stop."

"It is, in time," Beechson said. "However, Miss Schnee wished to stop for a brief meal after her journey, and to spend some time with her sister. There is a seat at the table for you."

A meal? Weiss hadn't mentioned this.

The man gestured for her to follow, toward a car where one other –with the Schnee emblem on his coats – waited. He looked ready to open the door for her, like she was some kind of celebrity or something. The car was bright white, which seemed to fit Weiss perfectly. Oh geez, Weiss. She was going to be _so_ angry. In fact, she was probably counting the seconds Ruby wasn't there.

"Okay, okay, I'm coming." Ruby hurried to the door, while Mr Beechson looped around and took the other, opening it himself. The man at hers let her in and closed it behind her, moving to the front and stepping into the driver's seat. The interior of the car was incredibly plush, with cream leather and televisions set into the backs of the seats in front of her. There was a lot of leg room.

"Would you care for a drink, Miss Rose?" Mr Beechson indicated a bucket with various bottles of wine in them. She bit her lip at that, but he simply chuckled and opened a different compartment, revealing a cooler with canned soft drinks. "Non-alcoholic, of course," he said, winking at her.

"Heh, thank you." She took a fizzy orange soda and popped it open. Idly, she noticed that the front of the car was cut off from the back by thick glass, probably to let Weiss or Winter talk without anyone noticing.

Ruby took a long drink and glanced out the window. They were on one of the main roads leading deeper into the city, with buildings in the background – and beyond that, in the sky, several large shapes coming in to land. One of them seemed particularly elegant, white in colour with several streamers behind it. Alongside that was an incredible battleship, brimming with weapons, the symbol of Atlas proudly emblazoned on its side.

"Wait, I thought you said they'd already landed?"

The window she was looking through clicked. The door itself had locked. Suddenly afraid, Ruby turned to Mr Beechson in time to see him strap a mask over his face. Not a White Fang mask, but an actual gas mask. She opened her mouth to accuse him, cry out or even scream, but such words were lost as a thick, grey smoke poured into the cabin, filling it in a matter of seconds.

Even through her fear Ruby held her breath, kicked out at him and tried to reach the door. Her hand found the handle and tugged at it, but the lock wouldn't open. Her fingers searched for it, teasing in the smoke. There wasn't one. It was a remote lock. Flexing her aura, she slammed her fist into the glass, trying to break it and let the gas out. Once, twice, three times her skin impacted the glass, which against all odds – despite all her strength – didn't so much as crack.

A gloved hand caught her wrist on the last try, as her lungs burned, and her mouth opened in a scream, taking in the gas. She was tugged back onto the seats, laid on her back with a masked face staring down at her.

"We do apologise, Miss Rose," Mr Beechson said, his voice muffled. "Sleep now. I am sure things will make more sense when you awake."

N-No. She couldn't. Wouldn't. Ruby tried to reach her scroll, tried to send a message or at least let someone know, but his hands took hers almost gently, easily controlling her strength as the gas robbed her of everything. He placed them back on her stomach and held them there until her eyes became heavy.

The last thing she saw was the man talking into his own scroll.

"The package has been secured, sir. Yes. Phoenix has no idea, I can assure you."

/-/

Weiss frowned as she looked down at her scroll, checking the time and wondering why Ruby hadn't responded to her latest message. _I swear if she ditched me to go play video games or flirt with Jaune, there will be hell to pay!_

Another minute ticked by with no Ruby, no message and no more Bullheads from Vale. Already annoyed, she called Yang.

No answer.

"Is everyone against me here? Damn it. Maybe Jaune will have seen her." She dialled in his number, and thankfully _someone_ saw fit to actually turn their scroll on or answer. "Jaune, I need Ruby. Where is she?"

" _Huh, Weiss? Is that you?"_

"Don't ask questions you know the answer to the moment you answer your scroll! Where is Ruby?"

" _I don't know."_

Weiss anger faded. "She isn't with you?"

" _No. Last I saw her, she was running to the Bullheads like her cloak was on fire. She should be in Vale."_

"She isn't."

" _Uh, Vale's a big place…"_

"I'm at the Bullhead docks," Weiss said, realising he didn't understand, and that she probably sounded a bit stupid without that. "Ruby was supposed to meet me in Vale and I've been waiting here to see her. She isn't here."

" _Well she isn't here, either. I saw her get on a Bullhead. Try calling her."_

"Do you think I haven't already? She won't answer her scroll."

" _She won't…?"_ Jaune sounded nervous, and now that Weiss knew Ruby had gotten onto a Bullhead, she couldn't help but feel the same. Sure, it would be just like Ruby to do a half-assed check to see if she was around and then just rush off, but it wasn't like her to not answer her scroll. Weiss didn't realise how much her anger depended on Ruby lazily sitting back in Beacon.

"I'll keep trying to call her," Weiss said. "Can you-?"

" _I'll ask around here, and let you know if I-"_ Jaune cut off with a strangled, almost agonised gasp.

"Jaune?" When there was no response, Weiss' eyes narrowed. "Jaune? Arc? Can you hear me!?"

" _Y-Yes, I hear you."_ If he'd sounded worried before, he was on the verge of hyperventilating now. _"Weiss, I have to go. I'll talk to you later. D-Don't worry about Ruby, I'll find her. Just… Just do whatever you're doing."_

The call ended abruptly. Weiss leaned back from the scroll with a nervous frown and scanned the crowd once more. No Ruby in sight.

"Like that makes me feel any better…"

/-/

Jaune was panting for breath. His eyes were wide. His hands were shaking. Open on the scroll, and what had come up in the middle of Weiss' call, was an image he'd just been sent, typically from an unknown, untraceable number.

It was a picture of Ruby, eyes closed, and hands crossed in her lap. Beneath it lay a simple caption.

" _We have her. You know where to find us."_

* * *

 **Uh oh.**

 **Nothing to say here as I have to go very soon and need to get ready now. It's a long drive down to London for this nonsense, not to mention the frankly** _ **ass**_ **traffic when I get there. Would have liked to take a train, but I actually have to take a lot of exhibition equipment in my car, so no other option. Well, at least this is sort of on the outskirts of London.**

 **Ugh, work. So, yeah, I'll be hotel-bound all next week, so for those who didn't catch the message there will be no weekday updates all next week. Things will resume as normal come Saturday, as I'll be hitting home about 11pm Friday night.**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 10** **th** **June**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	44. Chapter 44

**Back from my week of heavy work and pretty exhausted. Yay.**

 **To those who marvelled at how brazen the VSS were last chapter (and maybe even recklessly so), I'd draw your attention to how many such organisations work, including the CIA, MI6 and KGB. I mean, they're pretty damn crazy with what they do. You have MI6 sending innocent people to Guantanamo Bay to be tortured and the KGB attacking people on the streets, not to mention some of the shit the CIA get up to.**

 **I'm sure a lot of it is handled secretly and without too much fuss, but the ones that do see the light of day. Well, it's always amazing how** _ **unsubtle**_ **they are. It genuinely is just stuff like agents attacking people in broad daylight or abducting people off of trains or in taxis.**

* * *

 **Cover Art:** Kegi Springfield

 **Chapter 44**

* * *

"They have her," Jaune gasped, one hand on the door as he stared at Blake with wide eyes. "They have Ruby." It didn't take a second for Blake to realise whom he was talking about. The faunus leapt to her feet and ran over to him. Rather than explain, he pushed the scroll into her face.

How had they gotten her? Why had they taken her? Jaune's breath came out fast and harsh. This was his worst nightmare. This was _exactly_ what he'd been hoping to avoid. His actions had finally fallen on an innocent, and worse, it was after promising not just her, but also Yang, that Ruby would be fine.

If they hurt her, if they touched a hair on her head, he'd… he had no idea what he'd do. He wanted to say he'd kill them. Maybe he would, or at least he'd die trying.

"They want you out of the picture before the festival begins," Blake said. "You realise this is a trap."

"Of course it's a trap," he snarled. "But I can't not go! Ruby's in danger. There's no telling what they'll do to her."

"They might do nothing. Yang is an agent and would go insane if Ruby was hurt, not to mention Qrow and Ozpin. What can they really do to her? The VSS is a national security organisation. They can't just abduct and kill a teenage girl."

"They can a terrorist, or a dangerous criminal, or any other number of things they can paint her as, and then admit they were wrong about later." They'd call it a tragedy or a terrible error and brush it under the rug.

"Have you tried calling Yang?"

"She's not answering. She said she had a mission."

"Convenient timing," Blake whispered. "They planned this. Does that mean they know Yang is a traitor, or is this just them wanting her out of the picture while they kidnap Ruby?" In the end it didn't really matter, since Ruby needed them _now_ , and whatever they had planned, the time limit would be long before Yang completed her mission. "It says you know where to find them."

"The VSS HQ, or at least the building they first brought me to. It's the only thing I can think of."

"And what do you intend to do, surrender to them?"

"No. This will never end, and they'll go further and further in trying to capture me." Giving himself up for Ruby might not even help her, not when the VSS wanted to know Ozpin's interest in her. They might interrogate her, or worse, they might _recruit_ her. If they could convince her it was to help people, she'd join instantly – especially if her sister's safety was on the line.

The thought of Ruby being in the VSS, of her slowly losing her innocence, of her being forced to make the decisions he had, and then being forced to sacrifice her life in some ignominious manner… it was too much. It couldn't be allowed to happen. The defence of Vale was one thing, and it was a good thing, but the VSS had gone too far. They'd lost track of what it meant to be a part of Vale. What was the point of protecting something if it became rotten and twisted, and if you were the cause of that rot?

Ruby was the best thing Vale had to offer. If they wanted to get rid of that in favour of the shit that remained? No. That wasn't right. It wasn't what he wanted. It wasn't what he could let happen. First Cardin, then Oobleck, and now Ruby. Himself, too, and even Blake. Perhaps it would be Yang next, with all their fates forgotten to time.

This had gone too far.

"I don't intend to surrender, Blake."

"Then what do you intend to do?" she asked.

/-/

Ruby's first action upon awaking was to groan.

Her mouth tasted horrible and her throat was sore. Her eyes felt puffy and she could barely think past the pounding in her head. Rolling over, she realised her hands and legs were free, not that it made much difference. Weakness seared through her body and it was all she could do to kneel with her hands on the floor. Sweat beaded on her brow and she slumped with another moan, pressing her forehead to the cool tiles, desperately seeking to alleviate her headache.

"I see that you're awake," a voice said.

"Whrbl?" Ruby cringed at the sound of her own voice. She gagged, dry-heaved on air and would have thrown up if there was anything _to_ throw up. Through the haze, she tried to look toward the person who had spoken, but all she could make out was a dark shape some distance away, stood against a wall. "Wharl-" she groaned, dribbling a little on the floor. She clenched her eyes shut and tried to focus on making sense. It was to no avail. All she managed was a weak groan.

"Don't try to speak just now. The chemicals will take some time to leave your system and I'm afraid their effects can be quite pronounced. You will need all your energy, Miss Rose. We will be happy to listen once you can speak properly."

"Haaah!" Ruby gasped, trying again to speak. She reached out one hand for the figure, only to collapse as her body failed to stay balanced on two knees and her other hand. She fell and slammed her face against the tiles. Her aura tried fitfully to respond, but even it was dizzy and muted. Stars exploded before her eyes. "W-W-Who are…?" she managed, barely.

"Who am I, or who are we?" The man, or at least she thought it was a man, chuckled. "You shouldn't concern yourself with such. Rest assured you are in no danger here, Miss Rose. We have the best interests of Vale in mind."

It was a bit much to say that when they'd drugged and kidnapped her, wasn't it? Ruby wanted to say that, but her lips wouldn't move properly. She panted harshly instead. Fear was slow to work its way into her, mostly because of how woozy and lightheaded she was, but she could now feel its icy tendrils take hold of her heart. She was gods knew where locked in a strange room with someone she didn't know, and to make matters worse she could barely move. Nightmare stories and warnings from Signal came back to her mind, often about not drinking so much you didn't know where you were, and what might happen to a pretty girl who did.

 _I just… I just wanted to get to Weiss…_

"Why?" she croaked.

"Why what?" he asked. "Why you? Why are you here?" Ruby nodded weakly. "That is not a question you should be asking me, I'm afraid. Perhaps you should ask it of someone closer to you." The man turned away, answering nothing, leaving her with nothing but questions and her mounting panic. "I will leave you be for now. There is a glass of water on the side here when you can reach it." He put it down a fair distance away. "Rest and recover. Someone will come for you soon."

Ruby tried to cry out as the door was opened and closed behind him. All she managed was a silent, scratchy roar. It drained half her energy on its own and she fell again, clenching her teeth as she stared at the white tiles in front of her face. Her own spittle pooled on it.

 _Yang. Weiss. Jaune. Someone…_

"Hngh…"

/-/

Something ticked at the back of Yang's mind and she looked up from the scope she was watching the landing through. A crowd had gathered below to see Atlas arrive, and their latest battleship, and the air itself was filled with Bullheads, none of which saw her hidden in an alcove with a rifle. Ruby wasn't the only one who'd learned how to place a shot, even if she wouldn't be shooting anyone today hopefully.

Still, there was something that just didn't feel right.

 _It must be my imagination._ She settled her cheek back against the butt and stared down the scope. Everyone would be fine. All she had to do was make sure nothing bad happened here, and then she could get back to Beacon and Ruby.

" _VSS HQ to Agent Phoenix. Do you read?"_

"Agent Phoenix reads," Yang replied. "Is something wrong?"

" _You are at the location and providing overwatch. Is that correct?"_

"Yes, sir. I'll ask again, sir, is something wrong?"

" _No, Agent. All is as it should be. Proceed with the mission."_

The call ended, but the fact it existed in the first place left Yang biting her lip. Since when did the VSS care to check up on her like that? Why make contact when they should have known she was here. Why act like they were nervous she'd be elsewhere?

 _There's something going on here,_ she thought.

"I'll have to check up on it later."

The ramp from the battleship opened and General Ironwood stepped out, to the applause of many in the crowd. Yang sighed and settled her sights first on him, and then on the people around him, scanning for any threats.

/-/

"Can I help you, sweetie?" the woman behind the desk enquired. She wore a pleasant smile and a modest grey suit and looked overworked. Her eyes only really reached his chest, half-focused on the computer in front of her as she feigned politeness.

"I hope so. I need to speak to the person in charge."

The receptionist rolled her eyes, like she got the request every hour of every day and had to recite the same empty excuses. Her eyes trailed a little higher as she let out a long sigh.

"And do you have an appointment, Mr…?"

"It's Arc," he said. The woman froze, eyes meeting his. "Jaune Arc."

"I see." A button was pressed on the desk. Jaune didn't flinch, even when he heard shutters come down over the doors far behind him, locking him in. Numerous doors opened, and cameras whirred loudly as they turned in his direction. The staccato of footsteps on the balcony above indicated people rushing into position, and the click-click of guns being levelled on the railing, aimed directly at him, spoke of their intent.

Jaune stood through it all, dressed in his Beacon uniform, a calm expression on his face. To the woman in front of him he raised a single eyebrow, earning a vaguely embarrassed look in return. His hands fell into his pockets, and even though it caused plenty of people to tense, he didn't react.

"I'm here for an appointment. I think you've been expecting me."

"W-We'll have to check you for weapons."

"I came through the front entrance. If you tell me you didn't have scanners there, I'll laugh in your face. I have business here. Direct me to the person in charge."

"I don't think you understand what kind of situation this is, Mr Arc."

"No. I don't think _you_ understand, madam. I've been called here because a fifteen-year-old girl was kidnapped by the so-called protectors of Vale." The woman winced. It was very possible she knew nothing of the methods used. "I'm not here to waste my time talking to you or anyone else. Take me to the one responsible or I'll walk back out that door."

"You wouldn't make it."

"I wouldn't," he agreed. "But then you'd never get what you want from me. Would you? You'd have a dead body, a useless hostage, and a whole lot of explanations to provide to the headmaster of Beacon Academy." Jaune smiled grimly. "I'd like to see you talk your way out of that one."

A few of the guns on the second floor shifted, and one or two more came out behind him, weapons drawn as they cut off the only real exit. There were at least forty people here, which was about forty too many for him to have any chance of dealing with.

So, he stepped past the desk, ignoring the woman.

"W-Wait you can't-"

Jaune didn't listen. He brushed past her desk and pulled out of her weak grip when she caught his sleeve. Barrels followed him from above and behind as he made his way to the central elevator, pressing the button once. The doors opened, and though the receptionist continued to shout in his direction, Jaune stepped inside and pressed the button for the highest floor the elevator could manage, thirty-six. The glass walls did little to conceal the number of figures, all dressed in black, watching him as he ascended.

The building had more than thirty-six floors, many more, but they were only accessible from private and concealed elevators and staircases, each heavily guarded, the better to protect the true secrets contained here. The elevator came to a slow stop; the door opened. Jaune walked out into a wall of guns, six or eight people, some kneeling, all blocking the corridor as they aimed at the elevator.

There was a taller man in front of them all, however, and he clapped his hands together, smiling genially. He was a friendly-looking man with a wide face and a jovial smile, clean-shaven and with slightly messy brown hair that fell down over his ears in thick curls. Everything about him screamed that he was the kind of guy you'd stop and talk to on the street. Even the handgun on his hip didn't detract from that.

"Well, well, that's quite the entrance you made, Mr Arc. Or is it Jaune? I can call you Jaune, right?"

Jaune crossed his arms. "Are you in charge here?"

"I suppose that I am. I'm the one who contacted you at any rate. I'm glad to see you received my invitation."

"You have Ruby."

"Now, now, let's not start on such unpleasantness. Why don't we convene in my office?"

"I want to see Ruby first."

"I don't think you're in the position to be making demands." Jaune dropped one hand to his pocket, causing the men to tense. The man in the lead held out a hand, making them pause. Out came his scroll, one hand on the screen. "And what, pray tell, is that supposed to tell me, Jaune?"

"Take me to Ruby or I'll send this message."

"To whom?"

"Who knows? It could be anyone." Ozpin, Cinder, some other Agent, the possibilities were too many, especially considering the VSS' paranoia. "You could shoot it out of my hand, but I want you to know I've deactivated my aura." Jaune bit his other thumb for emphasis, revealing a small bead of blood. "You'd kill me immediately."

"That would certainly be a convenient way to deal with you."

"No, it wouldn't be. My absence would be noticed. Besides, you want something from me."

"What makes you say that?"

"The fact you invited me here." There were too many things that didn't add up for it to be anything else. Jaune stared at the man, daring him to order his to open fire. Each second that went by without him doing so only proved the point. "Show me that Ruby is safe. Until you do, you won't be getting anything out of me."

The leader laughed. It was soft at first, but it soon descended into a genuine booming laugh. "You're ballsy, Jaune, I'll give you that. Your record never suggested as such. I was under the impression you were new here. I've seen hardened veterans with less confidence." He brought himself under control and waved one hand. "Guns down everyone. He came here of his own volition, so I think we can trust him not to start anything."

"But sir-"

"But nothing, Agent. Two of you can accompany me; the rest get back to work. He's unarmed. He couldn't take me, let alone three of us." He gestured the rest to leave, though his eyes never left Jaune's. "I'll take you to see your little friend, though I hope you'll understand I won't be holding our meeting in front of her. The less she knows, the safer she will be."

Jaune nodded. "I just want to see her."

"Very well. Come with me."

The man turned away and Jaune fell in behind, conscious of the two Agents who followed in turn, five feet or so behind and to the side, forming a loose triangle around him. If he attacked the one in front, he'd be subdued before he could reach him. Try to flee, and the result would be the same, not including the however many other Agents, combat or otherwise, that inhabited the building. He was in the hornet's nest now, and without a hope of fighting his way out.

It didn't take them long to reach their destination and to Jaune's relief it wasn't up another floor. Being in a cramped elevator would have been difficult. There was a door latched from the outside and the man paused in front of it, smiling genially.

"She's inside," he said. "You can open the latch and see her."

Jaune did so cautiously, not pressing his face to it until the three backed away, giving him time to react if they were to attack suddenly. With a sigh, he pulled back the metal and looked through the thin hole. His heart leapt into his throat. Ruby was there, little more than a bundle of red cloth, but he would have recognised her anywhere.

She wasn't moving.

"I want to make sure she's safe."

The man frowned. "You can see she is."

"She isn't moving. I'm not going to talk until I know for sure she hasn't been hurt."

The man didn't look pleased and drew out a cigarette, lighting it and puffing out some smoke. He considered in silence for a moment, before he scowled and nodded to the two Agents. Jaune stepped back as they approached, but relaxed when they passed by and unlocked the room. They stepped inside first. The man nodded.

"You get two minutes and nothing more, and don't try anything. We'll be watching. If it comes to it, I'll order you both killed. Don't push me."

Jaune barely listened. He rushed into the room the moment it was open, fell to his knees halfway and reached Ruby a moment later. One hand came out, settling on her shoulder as he tilted her up so that her face met his. Her skin was flushed, and she was covered in sweat. Her silver eyes appeared blurry. They struggled to focus on him.

"J-Jaune?" she croaked.

She was okay. She was alive. Jaune's mask cracked and he drew her into a hug, breathing in her scent. "I'm so glad you're okay," he whispered.

"Jaune, where am I?"

"You…" He couldn't answer it. "Don't worry, Ruby. I'm going to fix this. You'll be okay."

"What's going on? I don't understand."

Of course she didn't; how could she be expected to? This was his problem, his and the VSS', and yet it had dragged Ruby in. He wanted so much to beg her forgiveness, but someone behind him coughed meaningfully. His time was up. He'd ascertained her safety and that wold have to be enough. Reluctantly, he drew her arms from around his neck. She was so weak that despite her best efforts, she couldn't keep hold of him.

"Where are you going?" she rasped. "Don't leave me. I don't understand. Where is my team? Where is Crescent Rose? Why am I here? Why are _you_ here."

"I'll explain in time, Ruby, I promise." He took her hands and cupped them together, even as the two guards moved and took hold of his shoulder. "Just hold on," he hissed. "Hold on, Ruby."

"Time's up, Rat. It's time to go."

" _Hold on,"_ Jaune mouthed, hoping against all hope that she'd understand. Her eyes remained fixed on his, filled with so much emotion – not all of it good. She continued to hold his gaze until the door was closed between them and the latch brought down once more. The man responsible for everything smiled at him.

"Ready to talk, Agent?"

Jaune nodded.

"I'm ready."

/-/

"This is Oobleck's office."

"Was Oobleck's office," the man corrected. "It's mine now. I am the new Director of Operations. You may call me Alpha."

"No real name to give?"

"I don't believe in sharing my name with Agents," the man said. In that regard he was different to Oobleck, very different. "Take a seat, Jaune. I've been wanting to talk with you for a while. It's a shame my earlier invitations didn't bear fruit."

"You tried to abduct me."

Alpha smiled and shrugged one shoulder. "It was a direct approach. After the… unfortunate nature of your last mission, I expected the polite approach would not work."

"After you ordered me to kill myself, you mean. It was you, wasn't it?" Jaune asked, eyes narrowed. "I recognise your voice now. You're the one who tried to blow up my suit and kill me."

"I tried to blow up your suit and save Vale," Alpha countered. "Killing you was never my goal, nor my desire. Please understand, I aim to protect Vale, as you do, being an Agent of the VSS. I send Agents on missions constantly, and some of those Agents do not return. They understand the risks. I believed you did, too. Director Oobleck would have followed that order. He _did_ follow it, even without me having to give it."

"Oobleck sacrificed himself to save me and my team. He didn't do it for you."

"He did it for Vale, Jaune. I doubt he regretted it."

"That's where you show you didn't know him as well as I did," Jaune said, staring at the man. Oobleck might have made the choice to sacrifice his team the first time, but he regretted it. Jaune knew. There had only ever been regret in his mentor, hence his final request to not hate Roman.

This man, Alpha, didn't understand that. It was likely that he never would. To him, the ends justified the means.

"Oobleck and I are not so different."

"He would never have ordered the kidnapping of an innocent girl."

"Innocent, you say? Surely you realise she is a suspect."

"I already investigated her!"

"And your opinion is biased, as you have so clearly shown. Yours and Oobleck's both, frankly. I'm not sure why he didn't see it sooner, but even the greatest fall to sentimentality at times." Alpha shook his head in exasperation. "Nevertheless, Miss Rose is our guest and will not be harmed, so long as she co-operates."

"Don't you mean so long as _I_ co-operate?"

"It applies for the both of you. She's a talented girl. She has potential."

"Ruby would never join the VSS."

"Wouldn't she? I'm not so sure. Anyone can be convinced to surrender their loyalty. It's just about finding the right motivation. After all, I convinced you to come here, did I not?" Alpha's smug smile had Jaune's blood boiling.

"Through kidnap and threats of harm."

"As I said, the correct motivation. I won't hide under a veneer of kindness, Jaune. What we do is dark business and I make no life of it. If by protecting Vale, I must harm an innocent, then so be it. I will make the difficult choices others cannot, and I will sleep with that burden easily. Whether it means sending you to your death, or forcing a girl into service, it matters little in the long run. You are but two people against the fate of tens of thousands." Alpha held his arms out wide. "Would it be any different if you became huntsmen? It would still be risking your life to save the people of Vale, only with a less certain outcome."

"It would be free choice, though. The freedom to choose."

"Freedom is as much an illusion as anything else. Do you believe anyone out in Vale has freedom, truly, I mean? Even with us out of the picture, the Council of Vale decides the day-to-day running of the city and everyone in it. The police enforce laws, laws that restrict freedom, and criminals act above it, affecting the lives of innocents for their own gain. We have terrorists and monsters on our doorstep, not to mention the Grimm. Vale is not free, Jaune. Vale is a tightly controlled web, and it is this web which keeps people safe. Safe with the _illusion_ that they have free choice, and the freedom to control their own destinies. They do not."

"And our job is what, to control them?"

"No. Our job is to protect that illusion. Our job is to ensure that those who control their fate have the best intentions."

"People like you," Jaune snorted.

"Someone like me," Alpha agreed. "There are no perfect decisions for those who rule, Jaune. No matter what I decide, someone will suffer. If I can limit that to just two people, however, then that is a good trade."

Jaune laughed.

"You find something funny, Jaune?"

"I guess I do," he said once he'd got his mirth under control. "Oobleck said something similar once."

"Then you see that he and I are the same."

"The difference was that Oobleck hated it and regretted all the hard decisions he had to make. He understood why they were necessary, but he looked for every opportunity to find a better direction – and he never tried to justify it with the same self-righteous bullshit you're pulling now."

Alpha sighed dramatically. "Then I suppose you will not listen to me. That is quite unfortunate."

"I won't. Not after you hurt Ruby, and certainly not after you spat on Oobleck like this."

"Unfortunate. On the other hand, your understanding is not necessarily required. You _will_ co-operate with me, Agent. You will be retrained and interrogated, and you will be watched closely, but so long as we have her, you will not dare step out of line."

"That's true." Jaune's humour died and he glared at the man sat opposite him. "I do have a question, though."

"Hm? Go on."

"You're afraid of me."

"Excuse me?"

"You're afraid of me," Jaune repeated. He stood slowly and paced from side to side. "I'm just a rookie agent, but you've bent over backwards to bring me in – or to kill me. There's no way you'd go this far for just anyone, so there's something about me that frightens you. No, something that terrifies you."

"That is quite the leap in logic, Jaune. You are but one man. We do not fear you."

"But you fear what I represent. You're afraid of what I could bring down on you. You're worried I'll go to Ozpin, or failing that, Roman or Cinder. You're scared I'll reveal the VSS and bring you into this war you've so cleverly managed to stay out of for all this time. You like things to be calm, predictable and stable. You're terrified of anything new that might shake that foundation, and that's why you're so worried about me remaining free."

Alpha took a slow breath. For the first time, his smile was nowhere to be seen. The man placed both hands on his desk, one atop the handgun resting there.

"I didn't hear a question there, Agent. What exactly is it that you're asking?"

"That's simple, _sir_ ," Jaune sneered the address. "My question is thus; If you're so scared at the thought of what I could bring down on the VSS, then why the hell would you provoke me?"

An explosion shook the building.

/-/

"Can I help you?" the receptionist asked.

"Oh, I hope so. I'd like to speak to the one in charge here."

The woman sighed. Another day, another waste of time – and this time she doubted it would be a wanted ex-Agent turning himself in. Her eyes trailed up the tall figure before her, lips peeled back in a frustrated frown. "And do you have an appointment, Mr- erk." Her words died.

"Torchwick," the man before her said, smiling. "Roman Torchwick."

The receptionist recoiled. She slammed the button on the desk and looked back, desperate for the guards. They were slumped on the floor. A tiny girl shimmered into life behind them, cleaning blood from a thin blade.

"I'm afraid I don't have an appointment," Roman said. He held up a small device with an angry red button, and with a wide smile, pressed it. "I hope that won't be a problem."

An explosion tore through the office behind her.

/-/

Hold on.

Hold on, Ruby. The words echoed in her mind, digging through the confusion, the fear and the nausea. She held on, not because he'd told her to, but because Ruby knew it was her only hope. She held on desperately, never once revealing the small, plastic object Jaune had closed her fingers around. It hummed warmly against her skin, the small tracker embedded in the top blinking occasionally. She knew what it was, even if she didn't know where he'd found it or what he hoped to achieve. She held onto it because she trusted him, and because it was her only hope.

Ruby held on – and continued to do so even when an angry howl tore through the corridor outside her door, followed by a familiar noise, gunshots from a weapon she recognised – and a voice she could place anywhere. Someone slammed into her door with a groan and slumped down. The latch was torn aside a second later and the door kicked open.

"Ruby!" the man before her growled. His eyes, filled with worry, scanned the room, locked onto her and widened. Maybe it was the drugs, but she didn't notice him go from standing before her to holding her in his arms. There was no transition period. It was just an instantaneous thing. "Gods," he gasped, holding her close. "Ruby, you're okay. You're safe."

"Uncle Qrow," Ruby mumbled. She pressed her fevered face into the crook of his neck. "I don't… feel so good…"

"It's okay, Ruby. We're going to get you out of here."

"W-We?"

"Me and your father. Ozpin, too. We're all here."

"J-Jaune," she gasped, trying to tell him.

"Yeah, I know. Who do you think called us here? Relax, Ruby. You're going to be okay. Everything is going to be okay."

/-/

Alpha leapt to his feet as the sirens began to blare. The room was bathed in red light, and the man before him – once so calm – now had his face twisted in absolute fury. "What have you done!?" he snarled. "What did you do?"

"The only thing I could do. Welcome to the war."

"You've revealed us? You fool!" Alpha stumbled as another explosion rent the building. "Who did you reveal us to? Which side?"

Jaune smiled. "Both."

"W-What!? I-Impossible. They would never work together!"

"Oh, they're not working together. I was sick of people using me and started to wonder what it would feel like to use other people instead. If you're going to try and make my life hell by hurting the people I love, then I need to stop you."

"You'll doom Vale!"

"Vale is a big place. It'll survive."

"Vale needs us!"

"I think you've convinced yourself that, but it doesn't make it true. People don't need to be controlled, Alpha, and they don't need you to do the controlling." Jaune cocked his head and caught the sound of the guards outside the door running away, heading toward the disaster points. "Torchwick from the bottom floor, Ozpin and his to save Ruby. I even dropped a line to Cinder Fall, telling her I'd discovered who was responsible for interfering with her earlier operations."

A fresh explosion shook the building, followed by screams and the sound of gunfire.

"Ah, that must be her. You've made a lot of enemies, Alpha. All it took was shining a little light on you all. No one can hide in the shadows forever."

"You fucking idiot." Alpha howled his fury and reached for his gun, only to gasp as Jaune leapt over the table and knocked it aside. The shot hit the window, shattering glass. His dive took him across the desk and he slammed the man into the back wall. They fell and grappled, even as more explosions and gunfire tore through the VSS HQ.

" _I don't intend to surrender, Blake."_

" _Then what do you intend to do?" she asked._

 _Jaune took a deep breath and reached for his scroll._

" _I'm going to destroy the VSS."_

* * *

 **Well, shit. Jaune's gone off the deep end and the VSS is in a very bad spot, not to mention the logistical nightmare of organising all three sides to attack the VSS at once. How did Jaune manage it? Well, we'll see some of that in time. I wanted this chapter to be a little surprising for it, and I'm sure some people were tearing their hair out early on wondering why Jaune went to the VSS alone without telling anyone. Was he a complete flipping idiot!?**

 **Luckily, no. Even I wouldn't write him that dense.**

 **But how will this play out, and is this even a good idea on Jaune's part? We'll see.**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 17** **th** **June**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	45. Chapter 45

**Here we are and here we go!**

* * *

 **Cover Art:** Kegi Springfield

 **Chapter 45**

* * *

Roman stood in a hallway, Melodic Cudgel at his side, its concert having reached its crescendo. The fallen lay about him, masked, garbed, dead. The hallways, so alike to an office, lay barren. Neo stood beside him, but for once in her life she did not smile, nor did she skip away to find prey of her own. Instead, one tiny hand reached out to touch his elbow, the girl offering what comfort she could.

Ash fell to the floor, along with a half-smoked cigar. He crunched it underfoot, not in the mood for even that.

"I'm fine," he said. He wasn't, and she knew it. The emotions, long buried, swirled under the surface, threatening to escape.

This was where it happened, huh?

This was where his team's fate had been decided?

Not just his teammates, not just the fallen, but his and Bart's, too. It was where everything had begun… all those years ago. Roman's lip bled, his teeth biting down hard enough to pierce flesh. He took a deep breath and let it go.

All those lives. The innocent, the guilty, and those who fought to protect both, snuffed out in an instant on an order given from here. A bitter laugh escaped him. Neo looked concerned, but he placed a hand on her head and tussled her hair.

"Tonight's the night, Neo. It's time to end this cycle. Once and for all."

/-/

"These are the ones," Emerald said, kicking over a body so that the black-masked face could be seen. "These are the ones that fought us at the bookshop, that killed Mercury."

"Well, it seems John and Roman were correct, then," Cinder said. The sword in her hand, still dripping with blood, dissolved into nothingness. "They really did find our little _pests_. And quite the nest, too."

"How do you think they found out about this place?"

"That is a question I will pose to them once we are done here. I believe it is time for us to avenge our fallen companion, Emerald." Cinder smiled and called forth a ball of fire. "Let none survive. Once this last obstacle is out of the way, only Ozpin will remain between me… and my destiny."

/-/

Ruby jostled in her uncle's arms, fighting past the nausea that threatened to overwhelm her. She was brought out into a white-walled hallway with numerous doors on either side of the corridor. The sound of combat reached her ears, of gunshots, shouts and the impact of weapons. Qrow carried her away from it quickly, both arms wrapped around her as she lay tucked into his chest.

Two figures dressed all in black appeared at the end of the corridor. Qrow skidded to a halt and cursed, already turning his body to shield her from their gunfire.

A wave of emerald light struck them from the side. Or rather, the light was see-through, but the edges shimmered with green. The two were launched back, almost as if they'd been picked up and thrown. They impacted the wall to the side and slumped there. One was knocked out, but the other recovered. He fired three shots down the corridor they couldn't see – but whatever he shot at didn't fall, for the masked figure continued to fire, desperation mounting.

At the last second, he drew a long blade and charged – only to be thrown back as a silvery cane cut through the air, deflecting the blow, rapping the wrist to disarm him, and then striking up through the broken guard, launching the masked man back into the wall with a sickening crack. A familiar figure dressed in a green suit stepped into the corridor, his cane tap-tapping on the floor.

"Ah, Miss Rose. It is good to see you in one piece."

Qrow laughed. "Trust you to make an entrance, Oz. Where's the big guy?"

The question was answered before Ozpin could, as an even more familiar figure rounded the corner and spied Ruby. Taiyang's eyes widened, before he surged forward. Strong as she might be, the relief she felt at seeing her father was too much and tears pooled in her eyes. She reached out her hands and he took her from Qrow, crushing her against his chest.

"You're safe," he whispered, directly into her hair. "Thank the Gods, Ruby. I was so worried."

"M'sorry…"

"No, it's not you. It's never you." He hugged her tighter. "You're going to be okay now, Ruby. You're going to be safe." For the first time, she felt those words might be true.

"Taiyang, get your daughter out of here immediately," Ozpin instructed. "Qrow and I shall stay to see who else has been taken prisoner and free them if possible."

"There's some kind of disturbance down below," Qrow said, nodding his head towards the gunfire and explosions. "Looks like someone else noticed the disturbance."

"Indeed. You'll have to exit from this floor."

"Don't worry about it," Taiyang said. "After going through your stupid initiation, I have my own landing strategy."

Ruby, hysterical or not, couldn't help but giggle.

/-/

Qrow breathed a sigh of relief once Tai and Ruby were gone. The knots in his stomach, numbering in their thousands, loosened just a little. He'd been so sure, convinced almost, that his Semblance would kick in. That he'd arrive in time to see Ruby dead. The further away she was from him now, the better.

"Check the doors on the left," Ozpin said, moving to the right himself. "If we can help it, we shall not leave anyone here." The man tried his door and frowned when it didn't open. A narrow of the eyes and a wave of the hand seemed to drive an invisible force into it. The metal buckled in the middle, dented again, and then _wrenched_ itself out of the doorway entirely.

Ozpin was upset.

Qrow wasn't much better, to be fair. He tried for a door and found it locked, but not sealed. Since they were cells, the mechanisms were on the outside. His was empty, though a bed in the centre, replete with leather straps to hold someone down, didn't fill him with confidence. In fact, it made his blood boil.

This was the room next to Ruby's. They'd found her in a cell, but what else had happened to her in the time between her being taken and them rescuing her? What had these bastards done to her? He'd find out. He'd find out and then he'd kill them.

The next two rooms were empty, too. This `VSS` obviously didn't keep hold of their prisoners long. Implements of interrogation were seen here or there, each of them forcible, each of them illegal, or at least allegedly so. He saw hats with wires running to them, which he could imagine carrying currents of electricity directly into the brain. He saw knifes and serrated blades, strange contraptions that looked to fit over limbs, and even syringes.

A gasp from Ozpin drew his attention. Anything that shocked the man couldn't be good. Qrow was at the door in an instant, in time to see Ozpin knelt by a still figure. She was laid on her back, brown hair spilling around her head. Atop her head were two, long limbs. She was still.

"Miss Scarlatina," Ozpin breathed. "I had been told she was visiting with family…" There was something other than anger in his tone. Grief, pain and perhaps even a little guilt of his own.

"Is she…?"

Ozpin touched the girl's face. He brought his hand down over her eyes, closing them.

Qrow looked away.

"I find myself quite upset, Qrow," Ozpin whispered, rising. "Though we cannot look after children forever, those who come to Beacon are to find themselves under my protection. Miss Scarlatina was under my protection, whatever her allegiances."

And those, at the end, had apparently not been to her captors. Or was it that they hadn't been to her captors _enough_? Qrow didn't know. All he knew was that the poor girl deserved better than this. Deserved, but would not receive.

Could they have come sooner, potentially…? Was this their fault?

No. A lifetime of blaming himself told him it wasn't true. Not this time. Qrow kept his head low as he left the room, drawing in a deep, ragged breath. Ozpin had remained, and so Qrow took the next three doors, opening each with a lump in his throat, waiting to discover something terrible. It was as he reached the fourth that he heard something. Whispering. A voice within, chanting, or reciting.

"Oz!" he cried. "This one has someone alive in here!"

The man, the wizard, was before him in an instant. The door wasn't so much open as crumpled before him and Ozpin strode in, eyes ablaze. It was a sparse and dark room devoid of light or comfort. In the centre stood a chair, bolted to the ground. In that chair was a figure, a black bag over their head, tied at the neck with thin string. It didn't seem to have air holes, even if the material wasn't thick enough to suffocate.

A torture of its own, to restrict the air and force the victim to fade in and out of consciousness, forever on the verge of suffocation without ever receiving it. Despite that, the figure continued to chant – perhaps in defiance, or just a stubborn refusal to surrender. The words were muffled entirely, lost in the sack over her head.

Ozpin reached for it but Qrow stopped him, bringing his scythe forward and gently taking hold of the sack, cutting into it without harming the person. It split at the top, falling to either side to reveal a girl, dark of skin and with black hair.

"ID41576. Codename: Crane. Atlas. ID41576. Codename: Crane. Atlas. ID41576-" The girl didn't stop, even when light was exposed to her. She kept her eyes closed, head tilted down, lips moving. "Atlas. ID41576. Codename: Cra-"

"Miss Soleil," Ozpin whispered.

The girl's breath hitched. She spoke louder. "Codename: Crane. Atlas. ID41576."

"Miss Soleil, it is Ozpin, of Beacon Academy." The chanting halted for a second. A single eye opened, bright blue – but stained red, the whites of her eyes all but impossible to see. She coughed weakly, but Qrow could see the hope in her.

He could also see the despair, the silent patience as she waited for that hope to be dashed. The girl before him didn't expect to be rescued. She wanted it, but she sat there with a quiet calm, as if she expected them to kill her and was prepared for that eventuality.

"ID41576," she said defiantly. "Codename: Crane. Atlas."

"We are not here to ask anything of you, Miss Soleil," Ozpin said. He moved behind her and worked on her bindings. "We are here to take you to safety."

"ID… 415… 76…"

It wasn't working. Belief or not, she refused to shift, refused to talk. Qrow could see the bruises on her neck, indicating that someone had not taken her staunch discipline well. The second Ozpin had her hands free, she fell forward. Qrow caught her. The girl's cheek was against his neck and he could feel how ridiculously hot it was, fevered.

"Codename…" she rasped. "Crane…"

"We're here to get you out," Qrow said. When that elicited no response, he continued. "We were told about this place by Jaune. He wants to see you."

The girl froze.

"Rat…?"

Rat? Was that his codename? Qrow nodded either way, hefting the girl up like Taiyang had Ruby. He looked to Ozpin, silently asking the headmaster to check the others while he got her out of here. The headmaster nodded once, already moving to the door.

"Oz," Qrow called, stopping him. "What will you do once you've checked all the cells? We don't want to be caught by whoever is attacking from below, and if the Council is involved with this, it could look bad if we're seen here. Are you going to get out?"

"In time, Qrow. But not immediately."

Qrow's eyes narrowed. "There's something you want here. Isn't there?"

"Though they used it for the wrong purposes, the VSS must have quite the treasure trove of information, much of which we could use. If I can get a hold of that, a copy, or even access, that intelligence could serve us greatly."

Something welled in Qrow's stomach. He looked down at the girl, almost on the verge of death in his arms. The other hadn't made it that far, dying alone, imprisoned, in the dark…

"People were killed for that, Ozpin. Can you really tell me that's worth it?"

"I condemn their methods, Qrow, make no mistake. But I would use it for the good of all."

"Yeah." Qrow held the girl a little tighter. "I bet that's what _they_ said." He stalked past the headmaster, whose eyes were closed, lost in thought. Qrow knew the man wouldn't listen to him, at least not like this. Ozpin made his own mind up and rarely took the council of anyone else. "Time to get you out of here, girl," he whispered. "Your teammate will be happy to see you. According to Ruby, she's been worried sick."

The girl in his arms, light and weak, groaned fitfully.

"Pen… ny…?"

"That's right. Let's get you out of here."

/-/

Jaune's back hit the floor hard, Alpha above him. A fist struck his face. He caught it before it could pull back. Kicking with one leg, he rolled them over. Alpha's other wrist caught his cheek. He gritted his teeth through the pain and slammed his forehead down into his opponents. Stars exploded before his eyes.

When it came to fighting, he'd never been as good as he could be.

Oobleck tried his hardest to fix that, and to a degree he had, but every little trick he'd been taught was VSS standard, and the man below him would have mastered them all. As they wrestled on the floor, Jaune threw it all away. He ignored the training that told him to use fingers and wrists, blocking Alpha as he tried to do the same. Instead, he became a whirling force of elbows, knees and more.

It wasn't graceful, and it wasn't kind.

It was effective.

Alpha gasped as an elbow caught his sternum. He rolled over and reached one hand out for his gun, only for Jaune to slam the wrist down into the tiled floor. The fingers touched the grip but pushed it further away, out of reach. With one hand on the back of Alpha's head, he forced the man's face down again and again into the hard tiles. Aura flared each time.

A click and a hiss alerted him to sudden danger. Alpha's free arm came around, out from underneath him, and there was a glint of silver in it. Jaune barely had the time to activate his aura before something slammed into his flank. The pain was immeasurable, even if the thin blade didn't pierce his skin. It skittered off to the side. Even so, the distraction gave Alpha time to turn and knock him off. The man didn't leave it at that but instead leapt onto Jaune, bringing the thin dagger down towards his eye.

He caught the man's wrists on his own, even if the blade slammed into his fingers, threatening to sever them. Alpha pushed down with all his weight.

"This is for the best, Arc," he spat. "This is for Vale. If you'd just done as you were told! If you'd just stayed loyal!"

"I did stay loyal. You're the ones who tried to kill me. You're the ones who kidnapped an innocent!"

"Like that fucking matters!" The sudden downward pressure ceased as Alpha pulled back. Jaune didn't expect it and over-extended. A hand caught his wrist, twisted it, and then the knife came down again, this time stabbing into his stomach.

Again, his aura flexed, but it was hurt like a bitch. Jaune slammed a knee up into the side of the man, trying to throw him off. His free hand thrust up, grabbing Alpha's collar and bringing him down for another solid headbutt. Through the daze he kept his eyes on the knife, tracking it as best he could. He shifted his head to the side, felt it crack down on the tiles beside him. His arm snapped out, catching it and knocking the blade from Alpha's hand.

Before he could reach for it again, Jaune rolled, shifting the two of them away. He caught the bottom of Alpha's hand to his cheek, gritted through the pain and drove his knee up between the man's legs. They rolled and tussled, away from the desk and toward the bookshelves behind.

"It matters to me," Jaune said. "She's my friend! The VSS was supposed to stand for something, and that something wasn't endangering innocent people!"

"Idealistic nonsense," Alpha pushed a thumb into Jaune's eye socket, and might have wrenched the orb out entirely had Jaune not slapped the arm aside. They grappled on. "Is that the trash Oobleck tried to teach you? He knew better. Sacrifices have to be made. You can't save the many without allowing a few to die."

"That's bullshit, and you know it! There were none at risk here. This wasn't a choice between saving people; there was no one else on the line. You could have left her out of it and _no one_ would have died!" Jaune growled and slammed down with both hands, striking Alpha on the nose. Bone cracked. "You wanted me! All of this was just to get to me!"

"You were a threat! You could have ruined us!"

"You were jumping at shadows," Jaune roared. His hands wrapped around Alpha's throat. "It's one thing to claim you'll make sacrifices to save people. Another to start the sacrifices before anything goes wrong! How many?" he yelled, growling as Alpha broke free. Even if he couldn't strangle the man, he caught his shoulders and drove him back down. Alpha's head struck the tiles with a crack. "How many have you sacrificed?"

"However many were needed!" A foot struck Jaune from behind, Alpha twisting acrobatically. The man surged to his feet and leapt for the bookshelf. He grabbed a bottle, a bottle of Oobleck's favourite brandy, and smashed it on the wall. Only the handle and some sharp points remained.

"You idealistic piece of shit," Alpha sneered. "You naïve fool. Do you think the sacrifices even matter? The population of Vale booms. The last time that happened, Mountain Glenn was the result. But you know what, it wasn't so bad."

Jaune kept his distance, back on his feet. His eyes slipped to the discard gun but Alpha lunged forwards to prevent him running for it. He dodged the bottle, if only barely. Jaune put the tall chair between them.

"Mountain Glenn was a tragedy," Jaune said.

"A tragedy? Mountain Glenn was a solution. It was a solution to Vale being overpopulated, and had it stood, it would have fulfilled that. It didn't. It fell, but in the end, when the tunnels were sealed, it still fulfilled its purpose." Alpha smiled cruelly. "Vale was no longer bursting at the seams. Vale was protected, saved, and as a result of the fear and anxiety, the Council was able to push numerous laws, with the aid of ourselves. In the long term, Vale prospered."

"At the cost of thousands of lives!"

"People aren't born equally, Arc. Some are more important than others, more necessary, more deserving of protection, of life. Do you know how it is we weigh the lives of those we might sacrifice? We don't make such decisions on emotion or impulse. Everything is considered. Those who left to Mountain Glenn were the desperate and destitute, those seeking new lives, new opportunities. They were the dregs of society, the wastrels, the useless and those who had nothing to offer. Mountain Glenn wasn't a tragedy, Arc. It was spring cleaning!"

"You bastard!" Jaune roared and dashed out from behind the chair, lashing out with both fists. It was a mistake, he realised, at the last second. Alpha's lips flickered into a grin and he twisted at the last second, dodging the strike and stabbing into Jaune's back.

Aura flared but the glass shards were incredibly sharp. One pierced through, cutting into skin and drawing a pained gasp.

"This is why you were only ever a rookie," Alpha sneered into his ear. "Too impulsive. Too reckless. Too quick to rely on your heart and not your brain. Your kind… They disgust me." A foot pressed into his back and he was pushed off the weapon, crashing over the desk and onto the floor. Alpha chuckled, tossing the bottle aside and stooping for his gun. He checked the magazine and cocked the hammer.

"As long as civilisation has existed, there has been a need for leadership. From the moment two barbarians slammed each other over the skull with clubs, unable to work together against the Grimm outside, there was a need for someone to make decisions. Society needed a solution, and if those two barbarians could not be trusted to work together, then the problem had to be solved another way. Do you know what the best way to prevent two people fighting is?"

Alpha levelled the gun at the desk and opened fire.

"You remove one of them."

Bullets slammed through the wood with might cracks, pinging off the floor on either side of him. There was no escape and nowhere to run. In desperation, he pushed back into the desk, turning and using it as a shield. Pushing up with both feet, he flipped it over and used it as a shield, ramming it and himself towards Alpha. The gunman cursed and dodged to the side, but that was close enough. Jaune's hand swept out, catching Alpha's wrist right as he pulled the trigger. The final shot went through, striking his shoulder and spinning him around, but he'd knocked the gun from Alpha's hand.

His aura was about half, already dwindling. Even so, he tackled the man around the waist, driving him back until he slammed into the water cooler, knocking it over. They crashed into a bookshelf soon after, breaking two shelves and spilling thick tomes onto the floor.

"That's taking the easy option," Jaune hissed. "You could talk to them, explain the situation, and convince them to stop fighting!"

"More… idealism." Alpha grunted and flipped Jaune around, pressing him to the wall, the man's wrists locked over Jaune's throat, pushing down. "If you were to try and make peace, there would be a chance it wouldn't work, or a chance they might forget it at a time when they can't afford to. If there is even the smallest chance of them fighting again, the society as a whole is weakened. Society does not need risks. It does not need uncertainty. There may have been only the smallest chance you could become a threat, but that is still a chance. To prevent that, I would kill you, your team, your friends, your family, your pets. Everything you ever knew."

"And in doing so, you've made your worst fears come true!" With a roar, Jaune broke free, pushing the man back. He slammed his right hand into the man's face, dazing him, and then the left into his stomach, bending him double. "It's a self-fulfilling prophecy. You made me do this. You're the ones who forced the issue by involving others!"

"They were involved the moment you decided to get close to them," Alpha said, deflecting the third blow. Bloodied in his own right, and with a broken nose, Alpha was still capable of catching Jaune's arm and slamming it down on the upturned desk. His hand gripped Jaune's hair from behind, smashing his face three times into the wood. On the third, he pulled back, kicked at the back of Jaune's shins and knocked him to the floor.

He was about to rise but for a searing pain through his shoulder. The knife had been stabbed into him. His aura hadn't held. Even now, it crackled over his body, spent. _No. Not now. I need to keep fighting._

With a shaking hand, he reached for the knife, trying to draw it out.

Alpha stepped down on it before he could, _slamming_ it through bone and muscle. An agonised scream escaped him.

"People aren't born equally, Arc. A politician can do more good for Vale than the average working man or woman. Their lives are weighed differently. We would – and have – doomed _hundreds_ of innocent people to protect those in power. Sometimes from threats to their life, at other times from threats to their positions. From scandal or rivals jealous for power. What does your family offer, hm? What do your friends offer? Huntsman come and go. If we need more, we'll train them ourselves. Losing a team or two is a shame, but no great loss."

He drove a foot into Jaune's ribcage, driving the wind from him. He was left gasping for breath but also spitting blood. "But losing someone important, or something important? That's worth more."

Alpha limped over to the gun. He picked it up and reloaded it slowly, tutting the whole time. Not once did his eyes leave Jaune's, watching. Prepared. Jaune grit his teeth and tried to move. Tried to do anything. But he was so weak.

Damn it. Damn it all to hell.

"For a dignitary I'd sacrifice hundreds. For a Councilmember, thousands." The magazine in place, he cocked the hammer and strode around the desk, panting slightly. "It's all about the economics, Arc. We're not simple killers. We're accountants. But in being a threat to us, you tried to write a cheque you couldn't carry. Because the number of people we'd sacrifice to keep the VSS going?" He pointed the gun down at Jaune. "Well, let's just say it would make Mountain Glenn look like a mere traffic accident."

"Y-You're supposed to protect Vale," Jaune rasped, hand clasped to the hole in his shoulder. "Not yourselves."

"Vale needs the VSS. It needs us more than it does tens of thousands of its own citizens. Your mistake wasn't in coming here. It was in making yourself a threat to the VSS in the first place. We will kill as many as we need to in order to protect what is important."

Jaune laughed. It was a sound flecked with pain and blood, but he laughed regardless, eyes lighting up in pure, honest mirth.

"Something amuses you?"

"Y-Yeah. I'm just thinking how ironic that is." He smiled when Alpha's brows drew down. "To think you'd warn me about being a threat to the wrong person… when you made the same mistake the moment… you took Ruby."

"Hmph." Alpha pointed the handgun down. "I think we'll be fine. Goodbye, Mr Arc."

The gunshot echoed in the small office, reverberating in their ears. Alpha lowered his weapon. His eyes were wide. He brought a hand up to his chest and pulled it away. His palm was stained red. Another gunshot echoed, the spider-web cracks in the window behind him growing even further as his body jolted. A third sounded and he staggered, eyes wide, three splotches of red growing on the front of his suit. He stumbled forward. And fell onto Jaune's waiting foot.

"Goodbye, Alpha," Jaune whispered, before he kicked back.

The Agent's body struck the window, already weak from three bullet holes. It shattered with a mighty crash, spilling him out into the air thirty-six stories above ground level. Alpha didn't even scream as he fell. He just looked at Jaune, confused.

Jaune dragged himself up, hissing as the knife, still embedded in the floor, exited out the back of his shoulder. He clasped a hand to it and panted but had the foresight to look out through the window, to the rooftop four or five buildings away, atop which stood two figures. One of them, Blake, he presumed, waved to him.

He couldn't wave back, but he assumed Yang could see his grateful nod through the scope of her sniper rifle. Blake had found her, then. That was good. Alpha was right, at the end of the day. Correct in at least one thing that he had said.

People's lives were weighed differently, and the average person couldn't make an objective decision. The VSS might have considered his life expendable, and his team's, for the potential harm he might bring them.

But the harm the VSS might have brought onto Ruby?

Yang would not stand for it.

" _They've gotten Ruby,"_ Blake reported, speaking into the mic he'd given her. _"Roman and Cinder are already working their way up through the lower floors. Now would be a good time to get out of there."_

"Not yet," he said. "There are still things that need to be done."

" _You're going ahead with it, then."_

"I already told you, Blake. It ends here."

He'd double-crossed the VSS, but the night was still young. Jaune staggered to the desk, opened the drawers and fished out an access card, one that might before have been reserved for Oobleck, but now had been granted to Alpha. It would grant him access to the catacombs. Still bleeding from his shoulder, Jaune staggered out and towards the elevator.

There was work to be done.

* * *

 **As big fights go, I normally don't like to have people talking during them, but sometimes I guess the rule of drama overrides realism here. To those who thought I was coming across as being anti-CIA or MI5 or anything else, I have two things to say, neither bad.**

 **The first is that I'm not Jaune, and despite how some like to say, I don't write him as a self-insert (and neither, I feel, does Miles). Were I in his shoes I would act very differently, and I personally think the world is shitty enough to make people like the VSS a necessity. So no, I'm not anti-security.**

 **But secondly, the main thing I tried to show was how much the VSS has deviated from that path. They tried to kill Jaune's team not because Jaune WAS a threat, but on the off-chance that he might** _ **become**_ **a threat. They became a CIA that went too far, or an MI5 that started to judge too early.**

 **In real life, though I'm sure there is a lot more terrible stuff we don't know, these agencies are at least – allegedly – accountable to higher powers. There are protections in place to make sure they don't become too nihilistic. The VSS had grown beyond that, however, as emphasises by Ozpin – someone who has influence with the council – not knowing anything about their operations. Or, you know, the ways they acted early on. Things like families (like Cardin's) having to give up their children to service, or cult-like, religious funeral rites, all designed to give the feeling (subtle as it may have been – and maybe TOO subtle i.e. my bad) that the VSS is maybe a little…** _ **too**_ **into themselves.**

 **I actually sort of based them on Bloodborne lore, really, and the way the Healing Church, and in particular the spy-like branch known as Mensis, acted in that.**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 24** **th** **June**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	46. Chapter 46

**Gods, my internet is committing suicide right now. I can't go 30 mins without it shutting for 5. It's killing me. Need to speak with ISP come Monday, but we all know they'll run me through the "Have you got it plugged in?" nonsense for days.**

" **No, no, now that you've unplugged it and plugged it back in, you need to let it rest for three days and tell me if it improves."**

* * *

 **Cover Art:** Kegi Springfield

 **Chapter 46**

* * *

Jaune leaned against the mirrored glass walls of the elevator as it descended further down, all too aware of the sounds of combat he could hear raging on each and every floor. Cinder had brought help to attack the VSS, or maybe it was Roman with some of Junior's goons. Either way, what they lacked in quality they appeared to make up in high explosives. He checked his scroll once more, nodded at the time and put it back. If everything went to plan, Ruby would be out by now. All that remained was to see how far Ozpin and Qrow would go; whether they would opt out now that the task was for whether they'd risk the fight against Cinder.

"I guess it depends on the pay-out," he sighed. When the elevator reached the ground floor, he drove Crocea Mors down through the floor of it and pried it back, forcing the metal to part. The elevator shaft continued down.

When Vanguard fell, Oobleck brought him down there, to the catacombs, but he had no idea how to make the elevator do that. Instead, he dropped down the hole and fell, cool air whistling past his ears as he went. A landing strategy might have been in the cards but there was nothing to grab onto. Instead, he thumbed his armband and shot out a grapple. It struck the wall and arrested his fall, slamming him into the brickwork. His shoulder felt like it was about to pop out of its socket.

Jaune took a few breaths before continuing, gathering his strength before he began to rappel down, using new shots where necessary and covering the last fifty metres or so to the bottom floor, where a sealed door stood. Working the muscles in his arm, he fished out the key card he'd taken from Alpha and held it up to the scanner. It flashed green and the door shifted open. "At least that worked."

A wave of cold air brushed against his face as he stepped in. He'd thought it cold before when they laid Cardin to rest, but he wrote that off as grief. Now, it was obvious that wasn't the case. The cavernous structure under the VSS HQ spanned off into the dark, much of it hidden from view, but rows upon rows of sarcophagi lined the walls. Cardin was among them, standing at the Vanguard as he often did.

"I won't apologise," Jaune said, striding through them all. "I'm not sure if you'd be angry or not, but the VSS turned on me – and they're not what I thought they were. Maybe they never were, or maybe it was just Oobleck that was."

There was a humming in the distance and it was that he followed, through the dark tunnels. The air grew warmer, unnaturally so. The sound grew, too, the humming now becoming recognisable as fans or turbines. The catacombs, being beneath the building and surrounded by rock, were already incredibly cold. It wasn't a place someone would have wanted to live, but the temperature helped to preserve things. The VSS hardly kept meat or food down in the catacombs, but something far more important.

Data.

Rounding a corner, Jaune was presented with another door, this one tightly sealed. Despite that, there were vents around it, letting hot air out and cool air in. The key card won him access. It made sense Alpha would have access, even as it made sense the VSS' servers and database would be stored down here.

It was a risk, but one he'd spoken with Blake about. They put their heads together and realised that for something so important as the VSS' information database, there could be no trusting it to an outside company. Everyone kept backups, but at some point the information became too important to back up, too dangerous. If that was kept elsewhere, the risk of someone getting hold of it would be too great for Alpha and the VSS to accept. They did not look kindly on threats after all, even if those might never manifest.

So it was, that when they'd realised the computers and servers had to be in the building, there had been only one place that came to mind. Somewhere hidden, expansive, easily protected and – most importantly – frigidly cold.

The catacombs.

In his head he'd imagined one giant screen. In reality, Jaune found himself before six normal-sized ones, but that was the only thing that was such. Lining the walls and travelling back in gridded rows were cages, each containing metal shelves that were stacked high with black boxes, wires coming to and fro as bright lights flickered and flashed. He wasn't much of a computer buff himself, but it was obvious this kind of hardware would be expensive. It also generated a lot of heat, enough to have him sweating, even with how cold the catacombs were.

There was no security here. They couldn't trust in it. Jaune sat in one of the seats and brought it up to the keyboard, hesitating on the main screen. It was password protected, obviously. His own would be meaningless. He tried it anyway, only to get an error message. Curiously, he tried Yang's. That, too, struck an error.

 _I thought they still trusted her. Is it that she doesn't have the authority for this level of clearance?_

Jaune bit his lip and leaned back. Alpha wasn't so stupid as to write his password down on his key card. That would have been too convenient. One finger tapped beside the keyboard as he thought. This system could probably only be accessed by those of a certain rank or more, with operators like Magician being able to draw on certain, more limited, parts of the database.

That said, if the login systems were different, then this might have an older set of passwords. The VSS didn't want to draw attention to the catacombs by coming down all the time, and for most simple tasks the access those upstairs had would be enough. Fishing out his scroll, Jaune dialled a number and waited.

" _Nice of you to call, kid. I'm a little busy."_

"Roman, I need your assistance."

" _Already? I'm busy clearing the records room on the tenth floor, so you'll forgive me if I can't come hold your hand."_

"I only need information. An answer."

" _Hm. Go on."_

Oobleck's details might still gain him access, but he didn't know the man's password. Yang did, but there was no way Oobleck would use the same details for the more innocuous side of the systems as he would one of the biggest secrets in the VSS. It would be something different. But not, given how hidden this place was, something so complicated as to be easily forgotten. It would be a memorable one.

"What was your team called in Beacon?" Jaune asked.

Roman's breath hitched. _"Why?"_

"I'm curious. What was the team's name?"

" _Tch."_ Roman let out a long breath. _"Torch,_ " he eventually said. _"We were Team Torch."_

"Named after you?"

" _No. I'm named after them. Given who was after me and what just happened, a change of name seemed appropriate. Or last name, anyway."_ Roman sighed. _"You've got your answers, kid. I can't buy much more time up here. Do what you have to do and be ready to get out."_

The call ended before he could reply. Jaune put the scroll away and entered the username again, trying once with Torch and earning nothing, and then again with Team Torch. The screen flickered and finally opened, welcoming Oobleck, Director of Operations.

So, they hadn't taken him off the hidden system yet. They either didn't think anyone would have gotten down here, or they'd been busy trying to kill him and delayed an update. The screen rolled over with information, numbers flying and flashing before it slowly loaded and revealed a simple, almost pedestrian, desktop.

With little time to spare, Jaune brought up the main database. His first port of call was his own name, and he scowled at what he found. Yang had changed the information in the database above, but the changes she'd made didn't have the authority to stick here. His name, date of birth, address and more were all current. Worse, his family was listed.

Nicholas, Juniper, Sapphire, Sable, Coral, Jade, Hazel, Lavender, Amber…

Jaune paused at the last. Amber had a file attached. He opened it.

 _Subject: Amber Arc_

 _Age: 14_

 _Sex: Female_

 _Relation: Younger sister of Agent Rat, designated ROGUE AGENT, designated target_

 _Recommendation: Acquire target. Potential use as hostage. Dispose of once target acquired._

Jaune's hands clenched into fists and shook. Below that was a list of information on his little sister, where she lives, where she went to school, what times she would be alone and more. It was detailed, far too detailed, telling him that this had been a mission in the planning for a few days.

It terrified him. He wanted to call home immediately, but the call wouldn't patch through and now wasn't the time. He scanned the information, blood growing cold as he saw pictures of her with her friends, names and details of those friends. Any could be collateral damage, silenced so that no one would know who took her.

And once they had her, once they'd used her as a hostage to draw him in, she was to be disposed of, like trash. He knew what that meant.

Jaune fought for breath as he brought the cursor to the top of the information and clicked a button. File. Delete.

 _Are you sure you wish to delete this information?_

Yes.

 _Information deleted._

His fingers were a blur. He brought up his other sisters and deleted them, his parents, his hometown. He dove into his file, scowled at the imagery of him and Blake – the mentions of his relationship with Ruby and everything else that he'd thought sacred. They were all deleted.

He flew to Ruby's profile. It had everything Yang had unknowingly given. It had everything he had _knowingly_ given. It had Ozpin's interest in her. It had information on her uncle, father and even her mother.

 _Recommendation: Acquire target. Potential use as hostage._

 _Mission Status: Acquired. Zero casualties._

 _Current Status: Interrogation Sector C-16, floor 32. Indisposed due to intoxication._

 _Notes: Unusual eye pigmentation similar to matriarch (see file; Summer Rose). Of interest to Ozpin (see file: Ozpin)._

 _Recommendation: Experimentation. Harvest._

His eyes locked on the word.

Harvest…

Those fucking bastards. She's just one girl, he could imagine Alpha saying. One person, already known to be of interest to Ozpin and already compromised. Huntresses died all the time and she would likely die like her mother had in some needless battle against the Grimm. If she truly wished to protect Vale, she should be happy to do so _however_ the means.

It would all be oh, so easily rationalised.

 _Are you sure you wish to delete this information?_

Yes. All of it. Gone.

Yang would have to go, too. As would Ruby's whole family. He went through them one by one, not stopping until they were all gone, and he'd reached Yang's. Her file was much larger, filled with all the information on every mission she'd done for the VSS. There were hundreds. She'd been brought in early and, from the looks of it, done very well by her employers.

A paragraph at the bottom caught her eye.

 _Warning: Though not trained by Bartholomew Oobleck, shows signs of loyalty toward him and toward target sister and uncle (see files: Corrupted, and Corrupted). Worrying signs of loyalty toward outside element of VSS._

 _Suggestion: Monitor and evaluate_

 _Evaluation analysis: Potential compromised loyalties. Proximity to target Jaune Arc, designated ROGUE AGENT (see file: Corrupted)._

 _Current Status: Active_

 _Recommendation: Immediate retaining. Loyalty courses. Psychoanalysis courses._

 _Favourable Outcome: Active Agent_

 _Alternative Outcome: Purge_

Yang's days were numbered. Careful as she'd been, the VSS had already planned to bring her in within a few days and remake her. In doing so, they'd ensure her loyalty was to them and not Ruby, and if that failed. No, when that inevitably failed, they would kill her.

 _Are you sure you wish to—_

Yes.

All of it, gone.

Jaune flew through the names. Pyrrha Nikos; filled with information, some blackmail material included. They had figured out her Semblance, and although there was no evidence she had used it to cheat, nor would it be seen as such, they had fabricated some. Lie Ren had less information, more mystery, but a dependency on Nora had been noticed and there was a potential mission suggestion of capturing and killing her to draw him out, the hope being that Jaune would follow and be made vulnerable. The mission had been called off due to the risk, Ruby being a much easier target.

Blake was listed – and they knew. Oh, how they knew. Her last name matched two parents, a Ghira and Kali he'd never heard of, but who were apparently big shots, because their files were impressive. There had already been two assentation attempts on Ghira Belladonna and three on Kali, the intent – or at least the intent detailed – being to replace the leadership of Menagerie with a foreign Agent they held, someone loyal, or at least indebted, to the VSS.

The plans after went further. They would rule Menagerie normally, but in preparation for a possible repeat of the faunus wars, or should the White Fang grow too strong, there were details of a plan, still in the early stages of inception, to poison water supplies and release chemical agents onto the island, either to kill, or to render those who imbibed it sterile.

The scheme had never been enacted, but the notes were there. It was a `final solution` should the faunus ever rise up against Vale once more. The solution being the slow removal of all faunus, if not by murder than by sterilisation.

As for Blake, capture, interrogate, hostage – and she was a valuable hostage. Hostage against Jaune Arc, designated ROGUE AGENT. Hostage against Ghira Belladonna. Hostage against Adam Taurus. Hostage against Sienna Khan.

Delete. Delete. Delete.

Oobleck's came next, and with it the most he'd seen. He had been with the VSS for over a decade, and the information listed through several pages, much of which he didn't read. What he did see, however, were two important files. One was labelled Torchwick, the other, purge. Trusting the first to be the VSS' efforts to hunt down and silence Roman, he clicked on the latter.

 _Purge_

 _Due to death of Bartholomew Oobleck (see file; Oobleck) concerns in loyalty have been brought to the attention of High Command. Numerous Agents show loyalty to individual. Unacceptable result for protection of Vale._

 _Recommendation: Purge of disloyal agents and new recruitment drive_

 _Status: Purge Active. Recruitment suspended._

Nervously, Jaune clicked to expand the list below that line. He almost wished he hadn't. There were over eighty names there, each a profile in its own right, each a code name. There was Vanguard, though by his were the symbols KIA, and there was him, but with ROGUE AGENT written beside. Many more of those listed were KIA, but more worrying were the words REINTEGRATED by some, and PURGED by others.

His cursor paused on a familiar name. Magician. The words already told him her fate, but he clicked anyway, mouth dry.

 _Codename: Magician_

 _Name: Velvet Scarlatina_

 _Age: 19_

 _Sex: Female_

 _Position: Beacon. Team CFVY (see file: Team CFVY)_

 _Role: Support. Administration. Active Agent_

 _Warning: Selected, trained and maintained by Oobleck._

 _Recommendation: Immediate retaining. Loyalty courses. Psychoanalysis courses._

 _Favourable Outcome: Active Agent_

 _Alternative Outcome: Purge_

 _Analysis Outcome: Expired during psychoanalysis courses. Mental break._

 _Recommendation: Purge_

 _Status: Purged_

"You bastards," he hissed. It had been so long since he'd seen and talked to her, long enough to dull the pain somewhat. Even so, he hated them all the more for it. Cardin had been her partner. Deep inside, he thought Cardin might have loved her.

For his heroic sacrifice to be so in vain…

Damn Alpha. Damn the VSS. He left the files. The dead wouldn't have need of them. Instead, he took a deep breath and navigated his way to the one he had been most intending to see. What he assumed would be the largest in the database. He wasn't wrong. Ozpin's file was immense.

With a sigh and a quick look to his scroll – at the time – Jaune began to read.

/-/

"Are the charges set?"

Neo nodded, landing gently beside Roman and flashing him a quick smile. The VSS might have been expert spies and informants, but Neo's skills as an assassin were beyond even them. It was why he'd trusted her with so important a task. Neo cocked her head to the side in question, and Roman answered.

"This place has secrets neither I nor the kid can let Cinder get hold of. It's a temporary alliance." Roman grinned when Neo raised an eyebrow in a teasing fashion. "And a little bit of vengeance, yes," he admitted.

In an ideal world, the explosions would kill Cinder, but Roman knew better than to bank on that. He nodded to Neo and held up five fingers twice, nodding after. Neo smiled and played with the device in her hand, holding up with a ten-minute countdown once she was done. Roman's scroll was already ringing.

" _Roman."_

"Bad news, Cinder," he said, putting on a little sigh for emphasis. "Neo and I just reached the records room. There's not much here."

" _Impossible. An agency like this specialises in information."_

"I know, but this doesn't look like the real thing. It's written records, and unless they're doing everything by paper nowadays…"

" _Then the real cache must be elsewhere. I see. Continue searching."_

"We've got other problems, I'm afraid. Neo saw Ozpin in the upper floors."

" _Ozpin!? What is he doing here?"_

"No idea, but she didn't engage. That's not even the worst of it, Cindy. They noticed when I got into the records rooms. They know what we're after, and they had countermeasures."

" _As expected. What is happening?"_

"They're bringing the building down on our heads."

" _A self-destruct mechanism? In the middle of Vale? You're certain?"_

"I'm looking at a timer," Roman drawled, rolling his eyes as Neo held it up helpfully. "Nine minutes remaining. They must have some kind of evacuation plan, maybe the real goods are being transferred, or they're already out. Between this and Ozpin, though…"

" _You're right. It's too dangerous to remain."_ The frustration in her voice was clear. _"It's too soon to face Ozpin, and ultimately we have what we came for. With this group destroyed, only Ozpin will remain as a threat. Pull back,"_ she ordered. _"Our work here is done."_

"Roger that, boss." The call ended. "You heard the woman, Neo. Contact the boys and tell them to sound the retreat. I'll catch up," he said when she shot him a worried look. "I won't be long. I promise."

Roman let out a long sigh once she was gone. "You know, I dreamed of this moment for years, old friend. The moment of revenge, where the VSS would be reduced to rubble. I thought it would be a moment of celebration, or relief. Instead, I feel nothing."

No regret, no satisfaction, no relief, nor even a smidgeon of sorrow. As the first charge ticked away, he could only stare at it and think of his partner's life work crashing down. Oobleck would be angry perhaps, but he might also understand.

Ultimately, it didn't matter.

Life moved on, and the dead had little to say.

/-/

Jaune's scroll pinged, signalling the end of the transfer. The information within the database was incredible, too incredible. The VSS had leverage over every politician in the Council, and some politicians in other Kingdoms. They utilised those extensively, sometimes for innocuous things like information or resources, but sometimes to cover up the disappearance of someone the VSS wanted to talk to. Several people had been arrested and deported from Mistral in the last year alone, and each of those had died mysteriously in Vale prisons. Only one had provided any tangible information on the White Fang. The others had just been collateral damage.

With so much power contained here, it would be possible for anyone in possession of it to change the fate of the Kingdom, as the VSS had done time and time before. If Cinder got it, she could probably force Beacon to close and take her prize whenever she wanted.

If Ozpin took it… well, there was no telling. He believed the headmaster would try and use it for good, or that he'd at least use it with the best of intentions, but it would be very convenient to take control of the Council. It would be equally convenient to take every VSS Agent currently outside of the HQ and gain power and control over them. They could make up Ozpin's personal army, tools to use for whatever hidden purpose he had.

Ozpin would be a good dictator, perhaps. But he would still be a dictator. If he was willing to draw Ruby into Beacon early, raising both Oobleck and Yang's suspicions, then what else would he do, especially in pursuit of his lofty goal?

How far would he go?

Jaune didn't know, and that was the problem. It was all or nothing. Give him the database and let Ozpin have everything or take it away and leaving them all with nothing. Ultimately, the choice was a simple one. Power corrupted, and if Ozpin was so confident with what he had already, then he shouldn't need this poisoned chalice at all. The only one who stood to benefit was Cinder.

 _Clearance is not high enough to delete database. Please seek administration approval._

"I guess it won't be that easy."

Or would it? The VSS couldn't have any back-ups. That was too dangerous. Rising from the seat, Jaune strode to the cages, which weren't designed to protect the servers from people, but rather small animals that might find their way into the catacombs. Each was locked, but the metal was hot, showing just how much heat the servers produced.

Jaune patted his suit down, looking for something he could use. As he did, a voice spoke through his earpiece.

" _We got the info on Ozpin,"_ Blake reported. _"Yang says the crooks are clearing out the building and Qrow did too. Ozpin's still inside, though. He might be coming your way."_

"How long do I have?"

" _Minutes at best."_

Not enough. Crocea Mors came free and Jaune slashed at the grilles, denting them and forcing the metal back just a little. He was able to reach in one arm and grip some wires, tearing them free. Several servers whirred and powered down. It wasn't enough. There had to be four hundred or more server boxes in use. He needed something bigger, something wholesale.

There were several large fans on the wall. Rushing over, he broke them quickly, cutting wires he could reach and otherwise ramming his weapon into the components of those he couldn't find a switch on. They all gave way easily, not designed to stand up to a brutal assault. With the fans on one wall silent, he rushed over to the other and repeated the process. The temperature in the room started to increase. In time, it might be enough to be a fire risk.

But that time didn't exist. With the cooling systems down, he hurried back to the servers and started to swing his sword, aimlessly for the most part, seeking not to damage but to hit something important, to cause a short-circuit, a spark – _anything_ that might cause a chain reaction. If Yang were here it would have been so much easier.

A spark erupted after a minute of frantic swinging. He'd caught a unit near the back and carved into it, somehow catching an element that caused the already overheated thing to spit out electricity. The spark caught, melting the insides of the unit and pooling thick, black smoke through the room. Crocea Mors clattered to the floor as he reached in and gripped it with both hands, crying out as it burned his skin. With a mighty wrench, the server broke free, and Jaune hurled it at another set of shelves, causing it to explode and showering the servers there with hot shards of metal and naked flame.

The fire took. It was slow at first, torturously slow, but for every new server that caught fire, three more were put at risk, and soon it spread, growing in intensity until sweat poured down his brow and breathing became difficult. An alarm began to blare, the flames recognised. Sprinklers opened up above, but it wasn't enough. It might have been for a single fire, but thanks to the mass overheating and the downing of the cooling systems, this was an inferno. The water only made everything more dangerous. Jaune ducked back, rushing to the door he'd come through and sealing it behind him.

The catacombs rocked as the sounds of explosions above shook the building. Loose dust and silt fell from the ceiling, but the catacombs were akin to a bunker, all the better to protect the database whatever attacked. The elevators would still be up top, or maybe even damaged, but a quick check in the still-open shaft showed that the carriage was riding down. Ozpin was on his way.

"And that's time for me to be out."

Bringing out his scroll, he checked the map he'd stolen off the database, a sealed and protected route out of the catacombs, leading into the city, known only to those in charge and accessible only by those of Director level or above. Flipping the key card up and catch it, Jaune rushed into the darkness and away. Remnants of the VSS would remain, those absent, on missions or working in other Kingdoms. Perhaps they would come back and recreate the VSS.

He could only hope they did so in the image of what it was supposed to be.

Not what it had become.

/-/

Qrow watched from a fair distance as the building trembled violently. The explosives went off on the lower floors, shattering the supports and causing those higher up to topple precariously. People down below screamed and ran for cover, but by this point there wasn't a person in Vale who hadn't realised something was going on, and the nearby buildings had been evacuated. Even so, the VSS HQ collapsed inwards on itself, floors shattering down on those below in explosions of dust and fire.

"And so ends a legacy," Qrow said, if only because he felt someone had to say something. The girl in his arms stirred but remained unconscious. Beside him, Taiyang stood with Ruby, who watched with bloodshot eyes.

He couldn't find it in himself to pity those who had fallen. Not after what they'd done to some, and what they'd tried to do to his niece.

"How did Torchwick even find out about this place?" Taiyang asked.

"I've got a feeling I know…"

"You want to share?"

"No." Qrow took a deep breath and let it go. "Because I think I owe the one responsible. Let's get back to Beacon. These two need help."

"What about Ozpin?"

"He'll be fine. Something like this couldn't kill him."

"What about the student who went in to find Ruby in the first place?"

"J-Jaune," Ruby croaked.

"You know… I think he'll be fine, too. For much the same reason."

* * *

 **You know, I think I may have accidentally misled some people last chapter. There were a lot of people who saw Jaune's "It ends here" and thought he (and I) meant the whole story, and thus complained that the ending was too sudden and rushed. I can agree, and it would have been, but that's where my error was.**

 **I, or Jaune, meant the** _ **VSS**_ **ends here. I didn't mean it was going to be some really contrived three-way melee in the hallway ending with the VSS, Cinder and Ozpin dying anti-climactically. Sorry about that.**

 **Anyway, this chapter was sort of a wrapping up one, so there wasn't any immediate action taking place. That was last chapter's fight. This was more to show what the VSS had been up to, how the death of Oobleck affected things and how Jaune keeps the Intel from both sides, ironically fulfilling what the VSS would have actually wanted!** **After all, if they were to fall, they would want (and it would be best for their goal of the protection of Vale) for all the Intel they gathered to be destroyed before another party could get a hold of it. After all, the database was a risk, and like Alpha said, risks must be eliminated, whatever the cost.**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 1** **st** **July**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	47. Chapter 47

**One thing that didn't translate well from last chapter was in the VSS logs. When there were "Recommendations" some were insanely dark, and some were not. I'd just like to point out that Recommendation does not necessarily mean "Currently doing this". It just means that it is an idea, a possible route to take.**

 **It would be remiss of the VSS** _ **not**_ **to consider some of those things – even if they later reject such routes. With Ruby, for instance, it's not illogical to consider researching her eyes if they know Ozpin has interest in them, but the fact she still** _ **has**_ **eyes, should show you that they either decided against it or were still conflicted and discussing the plan.**

 **Just bringing it up because some felt it was evil for the sake of evil, when it was literally just them saying "Hey, we** _ **could**_ **do this… not saying we will, but it's a recommendation." And besides, we already have real-world intelligence agencies kidnapping people later proven innocent to be tortured for years on end. And that's just the visible stuff we know about.**

 **Not sure where the idea them doing the same for Ruby here would be "unrealistic" comes from.**

* * *

 **Cover Art:** Kegi Springfield

 **Chapter 47**

* * *

The official story was that criminal gangs had started a gunfight in an office block. Minimal casualties, at least outside of gangs and terrorists, and no reason for the populace to fear. The violence was over, at least for now.

It was almost sickening how easily they accepted it, but perhaps the people didn't want the truth. Perhaps they wanted only the quiet comfort, deluded as it may have been, that allowed them to carry on like nothing important was happening. Ignorance was bliss. The people of Vale seemed to embrace that.

"Miss Rose is recovering in the infirmary. We've posted a few guards around her, not least of all Kitsune and Miss Goodwitch. If there are to be any retaliatory attacks, they shall not harm her. That said, I do not believe there will be any. The VSS' organisation has been gutted entirely, and those that remain will no doubt be struggling to pick up the pieces." Ozpin glanced around the office, catching the eyes of all within. Jaune, Qrow, Taiyang and Ironwood. "The Council has disavowed any knowledge of the VSS."

"Naturally," Qrow snorted.

"Whatever their intentions, it's clear the VSS strayed far from the ideals on which it was founded," Ozpin went on. "Looking back through the charters we found, it seems they were initially established to be servants of the people, to protect at risk to their own lives. They were not always a secret organisation and enjoyed quite the fond reputation."

"What happened?" Taiyang asked.

"People happened," Ironwood grunted. "The same way they happen in every walk of life. Greed, anger, arrogance and everything else that holds us back from uniting against the true threat."

Cynical, perhaps, but Jaune couldn't help but agree. Alpha had been more interested in maintaining the status quo and the VSS' power than he had been stopping Cinder and the White Fang. Oobleck was different. If only he'd lived to become the leader. Then, the VSS might have grown into something resembling what it had once been.

"What of the criminals who attacked at the same time as us?" Qrow asked. "Any news on them?"

"I'm afraid we have limited information. Torchwick was seen, as was a dark-haired woman with power over fire."

"Cinder," Jaune interrupted. "Cinder Fall."

The adults in the room all turned to him, some more interested than others – Ozpin and Ironwood primarily.

"I'll tell you everything I know about them later," Jaune promised. "I can compile a report, and have it delivered to you. It was my job to investigate her for the VSS."

"A stroke of luck," Ironwood said, pleased. "I would appreciate seeing this report as well. If that is not too much to ask." The General fixed Ozpin with a meaningful look, one that made it clear he would defer, but not gracefully.

"This is a matter of Vale's security," Ozpin said.

"Vale and Atlas are allies! And this woman has struck at _my_ people as well."

"You would be too heavy-handed, James," Ozpin tried to reason. His voice was calm but firm. He would not be moved. "While you are an ally, and a close friend, I think it would be best if I saw this information first and then passed on what might be useful to you."

Ironwood obviously wasn't pleased. He crossed his arms and stood stiffly to one side.

"Unfortunately, we were unable to reach the database in time," Ozpin said. "By the time I'd realised where it might be kept and found a way down, it had already been destroyed. Do you know anything about this, Mr Arc?"

Jaune shook his head. "I don't. Sorry. I was never allowed to see it myself. I could only ask an operator to get information for me. They'd forward it to my terminal."

"And you have no idea how this fire could have started?"

"I guess it could have been a self-destruct," he said. "Or maybe one of those bombs caught it and set it off."

"Nothing else that you might know?"

"No…"

"What exactly are you suggesting, Oz?" Taiyang suddenly said, coming to his defence. "The boy said no, and we know for a fact he was fighting on the thirty-something floor. The whole place was going up in smoke by the time you came out – and he didn't crawl out of the wreckage after you. He was halfway back to Beacon when we found him."

"I got out straight after killing Alpha," Jaune said. "I wanted to come back and make sure Ruby was okay."

Taiyang nodded. "See? The boy's said his piece."

"I'm only picking his mind, Taiyang. I meant nothing by it."

The burly man that was Ruby and Yang's father snorted. It was obvious he didn't believe a word that crossed Ozpin's lips, which was fair given that the headmaster was being as deceitful as ever.

 _He doesn't know I had a hand in the servers, but he sure as hell suspects it. I'd better not give him any more reason to doubt me._

"I can provide just about all the information the VSS had on Cinder," he said, catching their attention once more. "There's nothing that was on the server that I didn't find for them. Even if it's been destroyed, you won't lose anything."

"I see." Ozpin linked his hands before him and adopted a calm demeanour. "That is a silver lining."

But not, it seemed, what Ozpin truly wanted. The VSS was an organisation that worked in the defence of Vale, but they did not work with Grimm – that being the domain of huntsmen. The database didn't contain much of anything that would help Ozpin against Cinder.

What it _did_ contain, was information that would allow one man – Ozpin or otherwise – to control almost everything of the city of Vale. Blackmail on politicians, on the police, on the fire department, on the hospitals. Methods to influence people to see his point of view. Funding enough for him to do whatever he wanted without control or accountability.

Ozpin might sit behind his desk with a pleasant smile, but Jaune had seen that before. Fallen for it before. If the headmaster wanted to fight Cinder, so be it. He'd help in any way he could. But that was as far as his help went.

Vale didn't need to trade one master for another.

"It's the best I can offer."

"Then I thank you for it, Mr Arc. I will go through whatever information you have. Qrow, if you will keep an eye out for any activity from Torchwick. Taiyang-"

"I'm only here for my daughters," Taiyang interrupted. "Speaking of which, you'll keep them out of whatever games you're playing. If not, I might come and take them out of Beacon altogether."

Qrow stepped up. "Tai-"

"No. Don't you `Tai` me, Qrow. Ozpin's little conspiracies cost me Ray _and_ Summer. I'm not going to let them take Ruby as well." He stepped away and frowned. "You coming? Jaune, was it?"

Jaune glanced to Ozpin, but when it was clear the headmaster wouldn't stop him, he nodded and stood.

"Yes, sir."

Taiyang held the elevator open for him and the golden doors slid shut, cutting off Ozpin's blank face, Qrow's aggrieved look and Ironwood's almost amused smile. They travelled down in silence, Jaune too nervous to speak and Taiyang visibly controlling his frustration. Eventually, it was the larger man who broke the silence.

"Thank you for saving Ruby."

"It was my fault she was in danger in the first place…" He wasn't sure why he said that – certainly not self-preservation – but he did.

"I know." Taiyang ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "But I also know you had no idea she'd _be_ in danger. And once you realised she was, you came straight to Ozpin and Qrow, who contacted me. You risked your life to cause a distraction, so we could break her out."

"I… I couldn't leave her there."

Taiyang regarded him intently. "You have feelings for her."

"I do." And it was hard enough admitting that to her father. "I don't know what they are yet, but Ruby is important to me." Jaune quailed a little under the eyes of Ruby's father. "She… She asked me out, but I said I needed time to decide. I didn't want to involve her in my life, in all of these problems. I know I'm not right for her, sir. I-"

"Did you decide that, or did she?"

"Excuse me?"

"That you're not right for her," Taiyang clarified, looking away. "That's a pretty arrogant statement, isn't it? Everyone has problems, kid. Some are big, some are small, but there's always a risk in life, and more so when you want to be a huntsman or huntress. Once Ruby graduates, there will be a risk on every hunt she goes on that she won't come back. I had to come to terms with that." He sighed. "No father should have to, but I did, because I know it's her choice, her life and her dream. A father's role isn't to make all the decisions. It's to support their children, to be there for them and help them grow into what _they_ want to be."

Taiyang shot him a soft smile. "That's a partner's job, too. Be that in a team or marriage."

"B-But I'm a traitor to the VSS, and I know they're gone now – or most of them – but I'm still knee-deep in this mess. Torchwick and Cinder could kill me at any moment. Hell, _Ozpin_ might decide to if he thinks I'm a threat."

"Or if he figured out you destroyed the database system."

Jaune recoiled.

"Oh, don't worry. I think we all know – but no one has proof and neither I nor Qrow are going to call you out on it. My teammate is loyal to Oz, but he's not blind. I don't think Ironwood is, either. Between you and me, you made the right call. Ozpin doesn't need to know everything about everyone on Vale."

"But that's not the point I was making," he continued. "My point is that all these things, all these risks, they've all got a chance to make life difficult for my daughter – but you making the decision on that? That's arrogant. Ruby's not an idiot, quite the opposite. She can make her own decisions in life and she can weigh the odds as good as anyone."

"But she doesn't know the truth," Jaune said. He knew he'd walked into a trap the moment Taiyang grinned.

"Then you know what your next step is. Tell her. Talk to her. Explain the odds, the danger, what you need to do – and then let her decide whether she wants to be a part of that or not."

Jaune let out a long breath. "I… I guess you're right."

"Course I am, kid," Taiyang said, ruffling Jaune's hair. "I was taught that wisdom by the wisest of creatures on the planet – a woman. After Ray left, I was broken up inside and on the verge of some pretty bad mistakes. Summer came onto me and I tried to push her away, tried to tell her it was for her own good, that she didn't realise what she was trying to get into, that I'd only hurt her."

"What did she say?"

"That I was an idiot if I thought she was dumb enough not to realise _exactly_ what she was getting into, and that I was arrogant if I thought I knew her feelings better than she did. Summer told me she wanted me, flaws and all, and that we'd make it work. Together." Taiyang smiled whimsically. "And we did. Gods, how we did."

And then she died. Jaune didn't say it - he could never be that heartless - but the unspoken words went heard by all and Taiyang let out a heavy sigh.

"Watch out for Ozpin, Jaune," he said. "The old man means well – he really does. He has the best interests of everyone in heart and wants to save the world. But… he makes mistakes. He's only human, no matter what anyone else might say. It's not his fault, but…" He sighed again. "My whole team used to trust him implicitly. We were his right hand. And then Ray, Yang's mother, learned something she didn't like and abandoned us. Abandoned me. I always hated her for that, but when Summer died later on, I started to wonder if it was really us she abandoned at all."

"Or if it was Ozpin," Jaune finished. "If she found something out…"

"Yeah. Either way, after losing both of my loves because of him, I decided enough was enough. Couldn't get myself killed and leave Yang and Ruby all alone. Qrow stayed. I won't pretend to know why. We don't let it come between us."

"Why are you telling me this?" Jaune asked. His eyes widened a second later. "Ruby?"

"Ruby trusts Ozpin," Taiyang whispered. "Or she trusts huntsmen, she trusts that people are good – that no one has ulterior motives and that the world is black and white. She's like her mother. Too much like her mother."

And neither of them wanted to see her go the way of her mother. Taiyang couldn't keep an eye on her twenty-four seven, but Jaune could, or at least as close to that as he needed to. He finally understood why Taiyang was speaking to him, helping him, and why he'd defended him before.

"I'll look after her, sir. I promise."

"Thank you."

/-/

"You're okay."

Pyrrha stood and rushed over the moment he entered the dorm, and while Ren didn't get up, the way his eyes locked onto his and travelled down his body spoke of the quiet man's concern. He didn't get much further as Pyrrha engulfed him a hug.

"The teachers wouldn't tell us anything," she rambled. "Just that you, Blake and Ruby were in some kind of danger and we weren't to interfere." Pyrrha's eyes trailed over him as she stepped back, and she noticed the small bruises and damaged clothing, the signs of combat. Alpha had neither been kind nor weak, and his victory was only assured thanks to Yang's intervention.

Which was fine. A while back he might have considered the need to cheat in such a way as a blow to his pride, but Oobleck had knocked that out of him. Pride was useless, or at least pride in such petty things. He should instead be proud of his friends and family, and in coming home to see them after a mission.

And there lied the crux of the matter. Pyrrha and Ren knew something was wrong. They knew it was dangerous, and that Blake was involved. And yet despite all of that, neither demanded answers from him, trusting that if he believed in them, he would tell them in time.

He never had.

"There are things you need to know," Jaune blurted out. "I've… I've not been honest with you all."

Pyrrha shook her head. "You don't have to tell us."

"You're right, I don't. But I want to. It's just… Ruby deserves to know first. She was nearly killed and… and it was at least in some way my fault." Not entirely, as Taiyang had made sure he knew, but close enough. Jaune met Ren and Pyrrha's gazes firmly. "Will you wait until tomorrow, until Ruby is awake? I know it's not fair to ask after I've kept this a secret for so long…"

Ren chuckled and turned another page in his book. "We've been waiting for quite a while. What is one more day?"

"I'll wait," Pyrrha said. She seemed happy at being trusted to care for the delay. "I'm just glad you're both okay. After Ciel went missing…"

"Ciel is alive."

The two froze.

"It's part of the secret," he explained. "She's alive and in the infirmary, but she can't have visitors. It's… it's sensitive. Again, you'll understand more when I can tell you the full story. But I promise you she is safe and sound."

"That's good," Ren said, closing his book. "Will we get a chance to see her?"

"I'm sure of it. I don't think she'll be leaving Vale until after the festival."

He nodded.

"And Blake knows the truth?" Pyrrha asked.

"Only because I discovered it myself," Blake called, sat on her bed, laid on her stomach with her legs kicked back, one of her novels before her eyes. "He didn't tell me by choice."

"But she's helped me out," Jaune assured. "Saved my life."

"Someone has to. You get into enough trouble."

Yeah, he did. Maybe after he told Ren and Pyrrha, they could be a part of that as well. Ozpin wouldn't approve, but he was tired of the lies. _I won't let this be another Team Torch. I won't make the same mistake Oobleck did._

"Speaking of," he said carefully. "Blake, do you mind if we have a word?"

His partner glanced up, saw his expression and nodded. Before she could rise, however, Pyrrha had already done so.

"Ren. Do you want to spar a little?"

The man's book hit the bedside table. "Of course."

"You don't have to give us privacy," Jaune argued. "We can go elsewhere. It's not far for you to bend over for us."

"Jaune, you're injured," Pyrrha pointed out. "Not to mention exhausted. Sit down and have your talk. We'll be fine." Ren nodded his agreement and the two slipped out, both sending them smiles and quick nods as they did so.

A moment later, it was just Blake and him.

"They'll not care about what you did," Blake said.

"I know. They… They're great like that. I wish I could have told them sooner."

"It would have put them in danger with the VSS. Now is the safest time to tell them. Are you going to bring them into the fold, or just give them the basics?"

"I think I'll give them the choice. Explain the basics first and then hint at more, tell them that if they want to know they can, but it might mean having to keep secrets and that some of what we know is dangerous." Taiyang's words came back to him and he grinned. "They're both adults and clever enough to make their own choices. It's about time someone let them do so."

"Is that what this is all about? Choice?"

"I'm not sure." Jaune collapsed on his bed. "How is Yang?"

"At Ruby's bedside. She downloaded the Intel you stole from the database, but we haven't bothered to look at it yet. You know how she is; Ruby comes first."

It wasn't a bad thing, he felt. Certainly, with the threat of the VSS over and Cinder unlikely to make a move before the festival, there was time to relax. Not much time, but enough to let Yang watch over Ruby and make sure she was safe.

"What comes next?" Blake asked. "You've betrayed the VSS and destroyed them. But you still work for Torchwick, Cinder and Ozpin." She flashed him a grin. "Are you going for a full house?"

"I might," he said. "But to different degrees. I think Ozpin is probably on our side. He just… has his own side, and it's that I'm worried about."

"Be careful, but class him as an ally?"

"I think so. Cinder is a backstab waiting to happen. It just depends which of us stabs first."

"And then Torchwick," Blake said.

And then Torchwick… the man who had helped him even now, even after what had happened. Someone who fed him information on Cinder, but also led them into a trap and killed his own teammate. The anger still burned. Jaune had a feeling it always would, deep inside.

"I'll work with him," he eventually decided.

"For now…?"

"Yeah." He grimaced. "For now."

"That's still a painfully small list of allies. With the VSS down, we don't have much in the way of resources to work with either." Blake tapped a finger on her wrist but paused suddenly. "Do you know where more of those safehouses are?"

"Yep." He grinned. "I had one or two changed to a password only I know. We still have more resources than anyone knows about." He laughed when Blake's shook her head, obviously amused.

As for allies. Well, there were still options out there.

/-/

" _Who is this?"_

"A friend."

" _I'll need more than that."_

"I can't give much more."

" _Then I am hanging up."_

"No, wait," Jaune threw out a hand, even though the man on the other side couldn't see him. He did wait, however. The call didn't end. He was on the rooftop of the school building; hardly the safest place for a clandestine call, but with Blake watching the staircase it would have to do. "Ciel Soleil is safe," he said.

" _Who?"_ The voice gave nothing away.

"Ciel Soleil. Agent of the ASF."

" _Are those words expected to mean something to me?"_

"I got your number from her scroll. I know you're a contact. I'm not asking for anything, only to raise an alert and request contact." He knew he had the man's attention now, if only because he didn't speak. He was waiting for Jaune to make a mistake and give away information. Luckily for the both of them, he was prepared to do just that. "My name is Jaune Arc, Codename Rat, formerly of the VSS."

" _Formerly?"_

"The VSS has been destroyed." This time he caught the reaction, a sharp intake of breath. "I had a hand in that. In the wreckage we found Soleil. There were signs of torture. She'd been taken by them."

Silence greeted him for the longest moment, and he started to wonder if the man had thrown the scroll away. Eventually, however, he came back, his voice strained.

" _Where is she?"_

"Beacon Academy infirmary. I don't hold her. This isn't a hostage situation."

" _Then what is it…?"_

"It's… making contact," he said. "And also calling in on her behalf. She helped me out a few times. We're allies. You can come collect her at your wish, I certainly can't stop you. I won't even try."

" _An intermediary will be dispatched to debrief her. You have our gratitude. And that is why you wished to pass the information on directly."_ The man's voice hardened. " _Speak then. Tell me what it is you wish."_

"Not here. I need a contact address. I have information to be sent over."

" _You will receive one after this call. It will be remote."_

Obviously. There was no way this person was going to give him a private or traceable address. It was almost an insult that he felt the need to point that out.

"Thank you. I will be sending you Intel soon."

" _On…?"_

"The threat that faces Vale. And Soleil's file in the VSS, as proof of what I've said."

" _Generous gifts, Jaune Arc. There is no reason to give your name, but you did. The call is not screened. You are in Beacon. It would not be hard to locate your team, and through that your dorm."_

"Room 261."

The man was shocked to silence. He might have been lying, but he wasn't. The person knew that, too. There was no point lying about this when a simple check would ascertain the truth.

" _You wish to meet in person,"_ the man finally realised. _"You want us to approach you."_

"I'd be happy to meet at a neutral location if that's easier for you. Obviously, I don't expect you to come in person. Anyone is fine."

" _Why?"_

"My mentor told me that the VSS and the ASF worked closely together. He told me the ASF could be trusted."

" _Who was your mentor?"_

"Bartholomew Oobleck."

On the other end of the line Jaune caught the sound of heavy breathing, and the familiar clink of a glass being brought forth, then filled with alcohol. He knew it well. The times he and Oobleck had sat together were a fond memory. If Oobleck truly had worked so closely to train up members of the ASF, it was possible this very person he spoke to had learned the habit from Oobleck.

" _You will have your meeting, Arc."_

"Thank you."

" _We cannot send another Agent so soon. The distance is too great, and Soleil is, as you say, indisposed. You will be visited by a neutral contact. Do not harm them."_

"I won't. I want us to work together."

" _Send us what Intel you have. I will make the call."_

"Thank you, sir."

The line went dead, though his scroll beeped a few seconds later as an address came through. The ASF was a risk, of course, being close enough to the VSS in form and function that this might mark his biggest mistake.

But Ciel was different. He could only hope she was an accurate representation of her people.

And if she wasn't… well, the ASF didn't know about Yang or Blake.

/-/

"Figured you'd come," Yang said.

Jaune nodded and glanced past her, to the infirmary. "Is she awake?"

"She was earlier, but she was a little delirious. The stuff they pumped her with was to keep her compliant. The doc says it'll be out of her system soon enough, but she's too drowsy at the moment to stay awake." Yang's eyes flickered to his. "She asked for you."

"Why?"

"I don't know. It's possible some of the questions they asked her were about you. She doesn't know, but she knows something happened."

"And that I'm involved."

Yang nodded.

"I'm going to tell her," he said.

"Thought you might. Not now, though," Yang cautioned. "You can go in and see her, but even if she wakes up she won't be in the right mind for something like that." The girl laughed and punched his arm gently. "Don't want you getting off easy by spilling the beans to her when she's off her head with drugs."

Jaune wasn't sure how he could laugh at that, but he did. Maybe it was the sheer relief they both felt, or maybe their sense of humour was just darker for all the things they'd been through. Even so, he nodded, agreeing to Yang's terms.

"When I tell her about me, she might figure out your secret…"

"Let her."

"You sure?"

Yang nodded and linked her hands behind her head, leaning on the doorframe to the infirmary. More than pleased to have Ruby back, Yang still looked so very tired. Exhausted, perhaps, and not just physically.

"The only reason I didn't want her in the know was fear of what they'd do to her," she explained. "I thought as long as I played ball, she'd be safe. That they wouldn't need to bring her in, because I could gather all the Intel they would use her for. I didn't even realise they planned to kidnap her. They gave me a mission at the same time, just to make sure I was out of the way. If it wasn't for Blake finding me…"

"It was her idea," Jaune confessed. "We needed help and, well, you know the VSS better than she did."

"I'm grateful for it." Yang's eyes met his and she made a little shooting motion with two fingers. "Nice shot, eh?"

"Yeah. It was pretty good."

And now here they were, praising one another for the murder of a man. He'd have never considered that before Beacon, before the VSS, and he had a feeling it was the same for her. They'd both been changed.

But Ruby wouldn't have to be. Few would, anymore.

"Thanks," Yang said, looking away. "I know you'd do just about anything for Ruby, but even so, thanks. You didn't run in like an idiot and get yourself both killed, and you didn't run away like a coward and let her get hurt. You saved her."

"Just like you saved me," he returned, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I'd say we're even, but that's not even a thing, is it? Friends don't count favours from friends."

"Nah, they don't." Her smile became more honest, more _Yang_. She punched him again, harder this time. "Go on in, idiot. You don't come to see your injured girlfriend and talk to her sister. That's just lame."

"You're blocking the door!"

"Lazy excuse. You could have moved me." She dragged him past her and nudged him into the room, stepping a little out herself and closing the door. "I'll give you ten minutes, bucko. No funny business or we'll be having words."

The infirmary was quiet. It wasn't a natural quiet, but rather an automated one, with the occasional hiss of compressed air and the faintest beeping of a machine to break the silence. Over it all he could hear the breathing of the patients, Ruby and Ciel, side by side. To his relief, both were even and their faces, while pinched with discomfort, were not in any pain.

The bed to the left of Ruby was empty and yet ruffled, with a comic or two resting on it and the sheets pulled back. Yang's, no doubt. He could imagine her sleeping over, partly out of concern but also to stand guard in case the last vestiges of the VSS tried anything. Ruby had a single card on her bedside table filled with messages from her team, and there was a plate with three bags of sealed cookies on them, each looking rather expensive. There was a bottle of milk, too. Sealed, so it would be fresh.

Ciel had the odd get well gift as well, a card that was covered in glitter and sparkles. Probably from Penny. There were also some flowers, freshly picked and left in a vase. They weren't watered, so Jaune carried the glass over to a tap and turned it on, filling the vase with at least a few inches of fresh water.

He set it back on the bedside, checked both of the girls to make sure they were okay, and then sat on a chair conveniently placed between the two of them. Knowing Ciel would have his ass if he touched her while she was asleep, he turned to Ruby, brushing some hair from her face. Her skin was clammy and hot. Not fevered, but a little sweaty. There were some wipes on the table and he brought one out to dab at her brow. No obvious reaction, but the pinched look to her face diminished somewhat.

He wasn't sure what to say, or if he should say anything. Ruby was asleep; he could tell from her even breathing. Even if she woke up, she'd be too tired for so serious a conversation. Was there something he should do? The movies might have suggested he lean down to kiss her softly, but those were movies and doing that to a girl while she was unconscious just felt plain wrong. There was no telling if she would still want anything to do with him after what happened. Or at least romantically, since he couldn't imagine Ruby deciding to hate him for it. That just wasn't her.

There was a click at the door and it opened a moment later. It was too early for Yang, but he doubted anyone could have gotten past her by force, at least without her making an absolute racket to warn him.

Unless they had authority, of course. Ironwood entered the room with a quiet that belied his large frame. He spotted Jaune, nodded, and then held a finger to his lips, asking for quiet. Jaune retuned the nod, espying Yang outside before the door closed.

"General Ironwood," Jaune whispered in greeting.

"Mr Arc," the much larger man replied. He moved over to stand beside him, close enough to talk. "I came to check on one of my students. I understand she was on your team as a temporary arrangement."

"She was. Ciel looks to be out of the water."

"I'm glad."

Questions ran through his mind. Ironwood's presence felt too convenient for coincidence, but surely the General of Atlas couldn't be ASF. That was just too much to believe. _But they did say they would send an intermediary, not someone actually from the ASF._

He still wasn't sure it could be Ironwood. They'd instructed him not to harm the person who was coming, which suggested that in some way he physically _could_. VSS training or not, Ironwood would bend him over seven ways by Sunday if he tried anything.

But he doubted it was just concern that brought him here.

"Did you want to ask me something, General?"

"You're perceptive."

"It comes with the territory." Jaune smiled weakly. "Ask away. If I can, I'll answer."

"You worked for the VSS," Ironwood began. "The Vale equivalent of the ASF."

"You _know_ of them?"

"The ASF is not quite so insular as it appears the VSS were. They're naught but another branch of the military," Ironwood explained. "You might think of us as working in different departments. We may have our disagreements, and I won't profess to know everything the ASF does, but they are held accountable in their own way. There are limits to their power."

"That sounds like a better way to run it…"

"Than the VSS? Yes, I agree. You must understand that culture plays a part, Mr Arc. Atlas faced its own revolution, back when we were called Mantle. Oobleck might have told you that the old agency died then and was replaced by the ASF. We had seen what came off too much power in one place and were not eager to make the same mistake twice. Safeguards were put in place, and thankfully many of those who work in the ASF today still recall those turbulent times and so refrain from trying to go back to once was."

A far cry from the VSS, which had been for all intents and purposes autonomous. They didn't answer to anyone, or if they once had then they'd changed that – changed the laws through bribes and blackmail to ensure that they were untouchable. That their power was absolute.

"Ozpin does not fully trust you, Mr Arc."

"He does not," Jaune agreed. He felt an odd desire to return the sentiment. "He doesn't trust you either, General Ironwood. Or at least not as much as he probably should."

"Ozpin is a complicated man. He can be very wise, but at times can be so incredibly foolish, as well. Did you know that he personally works to prevent Vale having an active military? He fears it might lead to a return to the wars of the past and has used his influence in Vale to prevent the formation of such a force."

He hadn't known that. "Would it?" he asked.

"It might," Ironwood conceded. "That is always a risk. But I do not think it is the only possibility, but that's all it is. Atlas is currently the only Kingdom with a standing army. We could conquer Vale, Mistral and Vacuo with relative ease. But we do not. Do you know why?"

"No."

"It's because that is not our intent. An army exists for more purpose than just war, and we have other enemies we can fight."

"The Grimm."

"And terrorists, criminals, the White Fang, Cinder Fall…" Ironwood put added emphasis on the name and leaned forward. "Ozpin despairs of me at times because he sees my approaches as heavy-handed, because he sees me wipe away White Fang bases rather than open channels of communication. Because he sees me raising and training an army and thinks that conquest is all I think about. I can assure you, Mr Arc. It is not."

"In a very real sense, Ozpin is not so different to your VSS," he went on. "Morally, he is the opposite, and for that we can all be happy, but just like them, he focuses too much on the past. He keeps allies ignorant of the dangers ahead because he believes it is best for them. And ultimately, many have died for it. He prevents Vale training a military because he believes it might lead to armed conflict, and that means villages and settlements are left with limited defence, mostly automated turrets. When those fail, people are killed. These are all tragedies, but less tragic, in his mind, than a war between the Kingdoms."

"He dislikes risk," Jaune realised, and though uncomfortably of Alpha. He and Ozpin weren't the same, not at all. Alpha was a monster and Ozpin, while shady, genuinely cared for his students. Even so, Ironwood was not calling Ozpin a bad person. He was only highlighting the man's honest faults. Faults that Jaune, too, had noticed. "That's why he only trusts himself and Qrow."

"Yes. And Glynda, to a degree, but even then, he keeps much close to his chest. I respect him, Mr Arc, I really do. He is my friend and I will stand beside him. It is just that we do not always see eye to eye. Today is no exception."

"You want the information about Cinder," Jaune realised.

Ironwood made no attempt to hide it. "I do."

And that was why he had been sought out, why they were talking now – and everything that's spoken of. Jaune regarded the man cautiously but Ironwood made no sign of being prepared for violence. He also caught Jaune watching.

"You can say no, Mr Arc. This is a request. Nothing more. I will respect your decision, even if I do not agree with it."

Jaune relaxed. "What would you do with the information?"

"I would use it to prepare my people. I would use it to assess the situation, understand my enemy, and take steps to limit their victories. I would try to divine their purpose and put a stop to it. I would take the fight to them."

"In the middle of the city?"

"No." The General chuckled and sat down, the chair buckling a little under him. "I am not so gung-ho as Ozpin and Qrow would have you believe. I know how to be subtle. I _am_ a military commander, Mr Arc."

That was true, and Jaune doubted the rank was earned in any other manner than raw achievement. He certainly hadn't expected Ironwood to approach him like this, but even so, it wasn't a terrible thing. The way Taiyang acted earlier came to mind, how he'd accused Ozpin of mistakes that cost him two members of his team.

It was obvious the fallen had not known the full extend of what they faced, and they'd faltered for it. How much did Ozpin even intent to tell Ironwood? How many would be at risk because Ozpin considered the information need to know?

And did that aversion to risk, and the casualties that might arise from it, make him any different from the VSS?

"You'll have the information," Jaune said. The General visibly relaxed and looked truly grateful. He was just trying to look after his soldiers. "But more than that, would you consider working together?"

Ironwood raised an eyebrow but did not look displeased. "In what manner?"

"I think we can maybe help one another."

"That, Mr Arc, is an interesting proposal…"

* * *

 **Hm. Conspiracies and the ASF getting involved.**

 **I do tend to see Ozpin as a benevolent manipulator, which is something a few people have struggled with. You hear the word "chess master" and assume it's evil, but it isn't necessarily. A good commander in a war is a chess master, but it doesn't mean they are bad. They're trying to save lives and protect their country, etc…**

 **I think Ozpin genuinely does care about the world and the students, but there's no denying he does (and has done) a lot of shady stuff. I know some people rebel against the idea of accepting what Raven or Hazel say as evidence, but that's silly. Dislike them or not, call them evil or not, but their words still count. It's not like these people just decided to do what they do randomly, and then later "made up" shit about Ozpin just on the off-chance someone would come by so they could monologue.**

 **When Yang finds Raven, Raven never really says that she abandoned Yang and Taiyang for anything** _ **they**_ **did. It's all "I don't trust Ozpin" or "Ozpin isn't what you think he is", which makes it seem kind of obvious, at least to me, that the reason Raven left was not Yang and Taiyang, but Ozpin. Maybe you can say it's her cowardice, etc, but that doesn't change anything. It's still Ozpin who pressed the envelope on pushing her against Salem, putting Raven into a fight or flight situation where she chose to run in the first place. And that's presumably right when was she was either pregnant or had just had a kid, too. Nice timing.**

 **Hence Taiyang here saying that Oz cost him both Raven and Summer. Because I presume Summer was basically like Qrow and remained loyal to Ozpin, fighting against Salem until she was killed.** **And then Ozpin went and picked up Summer 2.0, helping her skip two years ahead so that she could be in a position for him to use her more effectively. Little reason Taiyang at the end of S3 tries to stop Qrow (known Ozpin agent) from influencing Ruby, and then freaks out when Ruby has run away.**

 **Again, I'm not saying he's evil. I just think he is willing to bend the rules for what he feels is best – and I mean best for everyone, the world, and the safety of the human race. I think he has genuinely good intentions. But that doesn't mean everyone should have to pay for them, Ruby, Summer, Raven and Hazel's sister being prime examples.**

 **Just throwing this out there for the "You're bashing Ozpin" parade which has been rearing its head across multiple fics lately.**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 8** **th** **July**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	48. Chapter 48

**Slightly smaller chapter today as I had to spend some time at the doctors this morning and will be visiting hospital this evening. Just life things. Anyway, I got what could be done in the time between done, and here it is. Well, it's only about 500-1,000 words below average, but it still is so alas.**

* * *

 **Cover Art:** Kegi Springfield

 **Chapter 48**

* * *

"You're a spy?"

Jaune nodded, eyes fixed somewhere below Ruby's, on the white sheets of the hospital bed she'd drawn up to her neck. The confession had been long in coming, yet there was no relief from having finally gotten it out there. Jaune rubbed his hands together to wipe away the nervous sweat.

Through the explanation, Ruby had remained silent, though silent did not necessarily mean impassive. The little ticks and twitches she made he tried his hardest not to read. Oobleck had taught him how but using it on Ruby felt wrong.

It was obvious from her surprise that Yang was yet to explain her side of the story, if she ever would. He kept her name out of it. Hers wasn't a secret for him to tell. The silence stretched between them until he realised Ruby's question wasn't rhetorical. Despite that he'd already said as much and provided the full story, a part of her still had to ask. A part of her wanted him to say no. He could not.

"I was. No, I still am."

"But you said the VSS were destroyed…"

"I'm not their spy anymore, but I doubt Ozpin is going to let me go. I'll become his."

"Even if you don't want to?"

He nodded. "Even if I don't want to."

Ruby shifted in the bed and leant back into the cushions. Her eyes continued to try and seek his but he couldn't meet them. His trailed down her arm instead, to where he saw numerous scars that etched into her skin. They were healing. Would heal entirely, Kitsune assured them, but they were still proof of what she'd been through.

The VSS had not been cruel to Ruby, but they had not been kind, either. He had no idea what they'd demanded of her and didn't want to ask for fear of making her relive it. What was obvious was that while the torture had not begun, and might not have, they'd started with drugs. It was very possible Ruby would have withdrawal for a few days, which was why Kitsune had suggested she be kept in the infirmary for a full week. Ozpin agreed. Ruby's team, desperate and relieved to have her back, made no complaint.

He had to wonder what they knew, if anything. Someone had kidnapped Ruby, but was Ozpin going to tell them it was the White Fang, or would they learn the truth? Did it matter if they did, now that the VSS was destroyed? It might. The reputation of Vale was still on the line.

"I-I don't understand," Ruby said, shaking her head weakly. "Why me? Why did that happen to me?"

"Because we went to the dance together…" Jaune said. When Ruby flinched, he explained. "When I had to cut ties with the VSS, they wanted me back. They were afraid I'd go to Ozpin. You and I went to the dance together. Even if we were never together officially, it was obvious I cared about you."

"I was just bait…? That's it?"

He nodded.

Ruby laughed bitterly. "I-I thought I was going to die. They kept putting needles into me and I felt so sick. I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to see Yang or Dad again." Her hands gripped the sheets tightly. "And they did all that without even caring about me? I never mattered."

"You didn't. It was all to get to me." He cringed when Ruby bit back a whimper. "I'm sorry."

"I-It's not your fault," she said, trying to regain control. That she wanted to forgive him was incredible, or maybe it was just the way she was, but if she thought him not the cause, she was very, very wrong.

He might not have intended it and he would have done everything he could to prevent it and save her, but if she'd never befriended him then this would not have happened in the first place.

"They're gone now, Ruby. We destroyed them entirely. Your father was there, along with your Uncle, Ozpin and me." And Yang, Blake, Roman and Cinder Fall, he refrained from adding. As rescue efforts went, Ruby's was certainly a diverse one.

"If they're gone, why do you still need to be a spy?"

"The VSS are gone but… there are others involved in this."

"The White Fang?"

"Among other things." Jaune sighed when Ruby fixed him with a firm look. "I can't tell you everything, Ruby. It's not safe. But while I was still working for the VSS, I found something bad. I was investigating it. I went undercover…"

Her eyes widened. "John White!?"

"That obvious?"

She shook her head. "No, just when you said it. You wouldn't look so guilty if it wasn't someone I hadn't met." Her eyes narrowed. "You attacked the CCT."

"But I didn't hurt anyone."

"Blake-" Her eyes widened. "Blake was in on it. That's how she knew to warn us at the breach that someone would try and take you away. She knew from the start."

"She did, and I _am_ working with Torchwick as you've probably figured out. I'm undercover there, and even though the VSS is no more, Ozpin will want me to stay in that position."

All he'd really done was trade one master for another, though at least with Ozpin he could trust that he wouldn't be stabbed in the back anytime soon. The biggest problem there looked to be a lack of information, Ozpin holding things back through lack of trust. Frustrating, but a whole lot better than what the VSS offered.

At least he could use his own skills to fill in the gaps, and there were plenty that still remained – including what Cinder wanted from Ozpin, this _trinket_ she was looking for. And, of course, where Ozpin kept it hidden. In the school somewhere, but where exactly?

"So, you were always a spy," Ruby said. "You were always here on a mission."

"Yes and no. I _wanted_ to be a huntsman and that's why I came to Beacon. I never lied about that."

Ruby looked up hopefully. "You never lied about teams and what kind of person you were?"

"If you're asking if our friendship is true, then yes, it is. I never lied about that. I had the worst reasons to want to become a huntsman," he admitted. "But I grew past that eventually. As for teams and such, Oobleck always told me to keep those and work separate. My friends were only ever my friends, Ruby. I promise."

She looked relieved by that and let out a little laugh. "It's not like we only became friends because it was your mission, then?"

He hesitated to answer.

"Jaune…?"

"It's… It was never the only reason."

"Jaune?" She looked heartbroken. "I was a mission?"

"No, Ruby, no, please listen." He gripped one of her hands in both of his and leaned forward. "You _were_ a mission, or it was a mission to investigate you, but I only ever intended to do that from a distance. Getting to know you, becoming friends with you, that was all me. You amazed me. You changed the way I saw being a huntsman."

"But you only got close to me in the first place because you were told to…"

His lack of an answer was telling.

Ruby pulled her hand from his and rolled over, turning her shoulder to him. He wanted to grip it, pull her back and explain – but what could he explain? She was right. Actually being her friend had never been more than his own desire for friendship, but it _had_ started as a job. Everything that blossomed from it was just a consequence of that.

"Ruby…"

"I'm tired," she whispered. "Can we talk about this later?"

"I… Yes. I guess we can." There was something lodged in his throat but later was not never. She was ill, sick, injured and in the midst of a recovery. Forcing anything on her now just wasn't fair. He stepped towards the door but paused for a moment. "I just want you to remember that a mission is something I have to do. It's a job, nothing more. Me choosing to invest my emotions into something, spending my free time on something… That's not a job."

Ruby didn't respond but he knew she'd heard him.

"Get well soon, Ruby."

/-/

"Didn't go so well?" Yang asked.

"You tell me. I doubt you've left her alone in there without some way of keeping an eye or an ear on her. You probably heard everything."

"Guilty as charged. She'll understand." Yang placed a hand on his shoulder. "It hurts now, and I don't doubt you'll have to grovel a bit, but she's just come out of being kidnapped. If you expect Ruby to be at her best, you're asking too much."

"I know. I just…"

"I'll have a word with her," she offered. "I need to do my own confession anyway."

"I'm going to tell my team tonight. They deserve to know." He sighed and looked up towards Yang, judging her reaction. She didn't seem against the idea, or at least not enough to tell him not to. "What bout you?" he asked. "Will you be telling anyone?"

"I'll be talking to Ruby, but I think that'll be it for now."

"Not Ozpin or Qrow?"

"Not them," she said. "I might tell Dad. I've got a feeling he'll understand, but I'm tired of being controlled by people. I know you've had it shit, but I've been at this for almost five years now and I'm sick of it. I want out."

He smiled bitterly. "Now's as good a time as ever. I won't tell Ozpin if that's what you're wondering."

"Thanks." She flashed him a smile. "And I'm not saying I won't fight alongside you. This Cinder business threatens everyone an' I'm still a huntress-in-training. I just want to do that on my own terms. You need my help, you'll have it. But as a friend. Not because of orders from up above."

"I understand. Honestly, it might be better having someone on my side who isn't known."

"There's that, too," she said with a laugh. "Might as well have someone in your back pocket. Anyway, with the database down and out, no one will be able to tell. You sure you want me in charge of the stuff you took off it?"

"I can't think of anyone better. Blake and I are known quantities."

"Alright, leave it to me. If you need anything let me know and I'll dig through."

He wasn't sure he would, but he agreed anyway. What Yang had was a mere fraction of the whole database, though even saying that felt like an exaggeration. It was less than a hundredth of a per cent, maybe even a thousandth. Information on Ozpin, Cinder and a few others – but only what was relevant to stopping this once and for all. Most of that he knew by heart anyway, being the one to discover it.

"Ciel came by a few minutes ago, by the way. Said she wanted to talk to you."

Jaune lifted an eyebrow. "About…?"

"Mutual friends, I'd say. Obviously, she wouldn't tell me. She still thinks I'm a civilian. Gave me a room number, though. I'd keep your wits about you."

"It's fine. I think I know what this is about. It shouldn't be any risk to me, and maybe a chance to forge some new contacts."

Yang looked interested.

"Might be best you don't know. You want to be free from all of this, right?"

"Heh. Guess so. Don't tell me, then. Safer that way."

Jaune checked the piece of paper while Yang let herself in to talk to Ruby. The room was one not too far away, but a floor higher and a long way from his dorm. It only took five minutes to reach it. The corridor outside was mostly empty, it being guest dorms not normally given to students, but instead to people who would come to visit. Jaune reached the relevant one and found Ciel standing outside waiting for him.

Against all odds and after all she'd been through, the proud girl still managed a smile. It wasn't a very good one, a scab across her lip making it look somewhat twisted, but he recognised and returned it.

"Glad to see you're up."

"I couldn't stay down any longer," Ciel replied. "Not with Penny coming to visit each and every hour." Though she rolled her eyes it was obvious she appreciated the other girl's presence. Much like him, Ciel had formed her own bond with her partner. "I'd like to thank you for rescuing me. I thought I would die in there."

"I'm not sure I really deserve your gratitude…"

"Because you were the reason I was taken? Or because the rescue was for that Ruby girl?" She laughed when his guilt showed. "Don't look so pathetic. Do you think I care for what reason you saved me from torture and death? You could have come to mug me, and I'd still thank you for it."

"I guess so." He looked her up and down. She'd covered up, switching her skirt for long trousers, probably so no one could see the damage. "Are you okay? There was nothing long-term, was there?"

"Bruised ribs, broken fingers, not to mention a host of psychological things I'll be needing therapy for." Ciel saw the strain on his face. "It's mostly precaution, though. In the ASF you're trained against torture. I'll be okay in a week or two, but I'm bowing out of the festival."

Made sense. At the end of the day, the tournament really didn't matter anymore.

"Why did the VSS take you, though?"

"Not here," Ciel said, nodding back. "We'll explain inside."

"We?"

"You asked for a rep from the ASF," Ciel explained. "I was filled in. Thanks for reporting me back safe. I appreciate it."

"No problem."

"Either way, I put in a good word for you and you've been invited to my debriefing." Ciel knocked twice on the door and then opened it, stepping in first and motioning for him to follow. The room they entered was probably the same size as his dorm, but it felt bigger on account of there not being five beds taking up space.

There was a single bed in the centre, unused, and a desk with a terminal atop it, along with several books and files left open. In the chair opposite, already rising, was a tall woman with white hair. He'd have recognised her from that immediately, but Ciel struck a brief salute nonetheless.

"Specialist Winter Schnee. Ciel Soleil reporting."

"At ease, Agent," Winter replied. "And greetings to you as well, Agent Arc. You need not salute," she said when he clumsily tried to echo Ciel's.

"Winter Schnee is part of the ASF?"

The woman smiled in amusement. "Not quite. I am a Specialist. Our roles are different, mine less clandestine, but I have had the opportunity to work with the ASF on numerous assignments, especially where their _alternative skills_ are of particular value."

So, she was the trusted intermediary. It still shocked him to think someone not in the ASF would know of it, but maybe Ironwood had been literal when he said the ASF was treat less like a secret organisation and more like just another department in the military. It certainly felt like they were more open than the VSS had ever been.

A part of him wished he could have been found by them instead.

Such idle thoughts…

But if so, then he'd have never met Oobleck, and that, among all other things, he could not regret.

"You've been invited to take part in Agent Soleil's debriefing," Winter explained. "Please take a seat, and don't be afraid to offer any thoughts you have." She waited for them to do so, and then Winter herself sat back at the desk. "First of all, I, and Atlas, would like to thank you for bringing one of our Agents back to us. Though it may not have been your intent, you saved the life of one of ours. That will not be forgotten. Every life is precious."

"I'm glad she got out okay," he said honestly. "Ciel is a good friend."

The look she shot him said she wasn't pleased with having that said in front of a superior, even if her cheeks heated up a little.

Winter, on the other hand, bit back a chuckle.

"That is good to hear. Long have the bonds between Atlas and Vale been strong. There were some who reacted harshly to the news of what the VSS did. Old allies turning on us in such a way. It has put many on edge."

"Enough to do something rash?"

"Thankfully not. Cooler minds won out and tempers were allowed time to pass. If the VSS still existed, you might have seen the true horror of a war behind the scenes. We would not have stood for this trespass." Winter's scowl slipped away. "But there is no longer a need, fortunately." Winter adjusted her seating to look at Ciel. "Agent. Though I know this will be hard to face so soon, can you inform us, for the record, what questions were asked of you."

If Ciel felt any distress she hid it well. It had to be hidden, for after what she'd been through there could be no calm like what she showed. "Of course, ma'am. The interrogation features explicitly on two aspects; the Paladin, and my connection to Jaune Arc."

Jaune leaned forward. "The Paladin…?"

It wasn't just another attempt to bring him in…?

"They wanted to know where I had taken it," Ciel explained. "And once they learned it had been delivered to Atlas, they wished to know about it. Questions on its operation, its construction, engineering, capabilities." Her eyes flicked to Winter's with just a hint of desperation. "I told them nothing."

"Your honesty is not in doubt Agent Soleil." Winter said kindly. "Please relax."

"Y-Yes, ma'am. I apologise."

"No harm is done. As you can see, Agent Arc, the VSS was not overtly interested in using Soleil as a means to reach you. It is my belief that they did not consider the two of you sufficiently close or felt you would abandon her because she was an Agent of the ASF."

"I would never do that!"

"What you would or wouldn't do is irrelevant, only what they believed. The secrets of the Paladin remained their main goal."

Was that true? It almost had to be. Oobleck had told him once that should they have captured the Paladin, they would have researched it before sending it back, but he'd never thought they would go so far as to kidnap Ciel for information. _But I never thought they would do the same to Ruby, either._

It was arrogance to think their entire world view revolved around him. The VSS wanted him captured, but they had other objectives, too. The Paladin was probably one of many.

"Is a single robot really worth so much?" he had to ask. "Even if they succeeded, the moment they brought them out for themselves, you'd all know where it was taken from. You would know what happened to Ciel."

"That's true, but it might have taken years for that to happen," Winter explained. "Meanwhile, the technological advantage could push Vale's engineering ahead by a decade or more, at almost no cost in terms of lien or manpower. Some might consider that worth the risk."

And they might consider Ciel's life worth the cost, too. Disgusting.

"The needs of the many have always outweighed the needs of the few."

"But Vale didn't _need_ that technology," he protested. "They simply desired it!"

Winter nodded. "Yes. And that is the crux of the issue. All too often people convince themselves that their actions are justified by necessity. Steal a loaf of bread to feed one's family and you have done what you must. But smash the window of a bakery to take more, and a line has been crossed. Still, the hungry urchin might claim it necessary. Perhaps, as the VSS did here."

Not something the city needed, but something that people could be convinced the city did. But the chance of losing their alliance with Atlas was still there, and that would have devastated people. The Kingdoms needed to work together.

Unless the VSS felt they could buy the support of Mistral or Vacuo by selling the secrets of Paladin construction. _I guess we'll never know what the plan was now. It won't have a chance to come to fruition._

Atlas and Vale would remain allies specifically _because_ he had brought down the VSS. That was something to feel good about, at least.

"With the VSS destroyed, much of the threat towards the alliance has ended," Winter continued. "As such, Atlas will extend the hand of support in the weight of the absence created by the VSS. We will work together, likely through Ozpin now, to ensure that our ally survives the coming storm."

Relieved, Jaune nodded. "Thank you."

"That is why you contacted the ASF, is it not? You provided them information on the threat so that we might be forced to act."

"I, well… yes." There was no hiding it. "I'm sorry if that sounded manipulative."

"Vale needs our support," Winter said softly. "We shall provide it. That is what an ally does. That is what a _good person_ does." She sighed softly. "It is also what Bartholomew Oobleck would have done."

Jaune's head rose. "You knew him?"

"Many in Atlas did, at least those in the know. While I did not train under him, he once provided classes to the Specialists in several topics. His kindness was well known, as was how he could balance it with ruthlessness when required. Even so, he never lost sight of the bigger picture. He was a good man."

"He was," Ciel whispered. It struck him she'd never had chance to properly grieve for him, either. Stuck in Mountain Glenn in the Paladin, and then quickly kidnapped and tortured soon after, her life had been turned upside down.

"That you were his student, perhaps even his final student, speaks well for you," Winter said. "Though we try not to interfere, it is no secret that we'd hoped Oobleck would take over the VSS in time."

"I think we'd have all liked that," Jaune said.

"Oobleck knew the difference between true necessity and greed," Winter said. "It seems to me that you do, too." She smiled mysteriously, and Jaune's hackles rose. "General Ironwood also spoke to me, and to the ASF of you. He spoke well of you."

"Does that mean the ASF will help?"

"I've already said Atlas will offer Vale the support it needs," Winter said. She leaned back and paused for a long moment, and it became increasingly obvious she was trying to phrase something in her head. She was going to say something she felt he didn't want to hear and was trying to think up the best way to say it.

That didn't do much for his own confidence. He looked to Ciel.

She shook her head, as confused as he.

"The ASF, the military and the Specialists have all agreed to help," Winter began. "We will work together with you to bring down Cinder Fall. That said, we cannot dedicate all of our time and resources to your Kingdom. We must defend our own as well."

"Cinder is almost certainly going to do something during the festival," he said. "Whatever is going to happen will happen in the next few weeks."

"But what comes after, Agent Arc?"

"What do you mean? With Cinder gone, there's nothing left to fear."

"There will be, in time. A Kingdom needs to be able to defend itself from any and all threats. A Kingdom needs its protectors." Winter hesitated. Whatever she'd decided, she ultimately went with the direct approach. "Vale needs the VSS."

"Well that's too bad. It's destroyed."

"It can be rebuilt."

He knew immediately. He saw it at that moment – what she was trying to say, the questions, the answers, the mention of Oobleck and he, Oobleck's final student. It struck him like a punch to the gut. He had to grasp the desk's edge so not to fall.

"You want _me_ to re-start the VSS."

"We do."

"No! No way. That's crazy!"

"If not you, then whom?" Winter asked. "Would you place such power in the hands of a stranger? Who could you trust with the power, the influence and the responsibility? Name the person and I will extend the offer to them."

Ruby, he wanted to say, but she had nothing to do with this and wanted it even less. Yang? No, she hated the VSS and what it stood for. She wanted out. To put it on her would be cruelty unimaginable, while Blake, for all her efforts, was still an ex-terrorist.

Who else beyond that could he trust with it all? Ozpin? Not a chance. Qrow? Same problem. Taiyang? He barely knew the guy.

There was no one. Oobleck would have been ideal; he would have been perfect.

Instead, all they had was his replacement. His inferior copy.

And it was that which Atlas wanted.

"I'm just one man," he rasped.

"All ventures begin in the mind of a single person. When Mantle fell, Atlas had to rebuild. It forged not only the ASF, but an entire Kingdom from the ashes. Your job would be much easier."

"I don't have that kind of money!"

"Atlas would lend you it."

"I don't have resources."

"Atlas would gift them."

"Manpower-"

"Atlas would lend you Agents on a temporary basis, and we would extend the same rights that were given to us, training by experienced Specialists and equipment should you need it." Winter leaned forward. "We would support you, Ag- no, Jaune Arc. We would be behind you. Anything you might need, we will provide. But Vale _cannot_ stand on its own, and the VSS as it was had become rotten and unfit for its purpose."

"It must be created anew. _You_ must create it anew."

Jaune gripped his head, desperate for reasons, excuses, anything he could throw at her to convince her otherwise. Winter was having none of it and continued to bombard him.

"You could make it what it was supposed to be, a legacy that Oobleck would be proud of. The ASF would stand behind you, a stronger alliance than ever before. You could be an organisation that works not for its own ends, but to genuinely improve the lives of the people."

"I… I can't…"

"You can't? Or you _believe_ you cannot."

"I'm seventeen!" he cried. "I'm a teenager, I'm inexperienced, I'm… I'm useless in a fight. I'm not strong like Vanguard, skilled like Ciel or clever like Oobleck. I'm…"

 _I'm just me._

"And yet you, Jaune Arc, one man, orchestrated the fall of the VSS."

"I had help…"

"And so would you now."

"I'd be willing to help," Ciel said, reaching a hand over to touch his. "You saved me. Oobleck trained me. If the ASF would let me go, I'd join the new VSS, or whatever you wanted to call it."

"I could suggest as much to the ASF," Winter allowed. "General Ironwood might also offer his support, particularly with administrivia duties or equipment. The ASF has already spoken to my father and he has agreed to act as a front for an acquisition of land. In name, it would belong to the SDC, but in name only. It would be a front for your new headquarters. Everything is in place. All that is required is your agreement."

Damn it. Damn her and damn their logic. It wasn't even Winter, he could tell, but the ASF and Ironwood and everyone else behind them in Atlas. Their words, cruel as they might have been, reflected only the harsh reality, the necessity, of the situation.

Vale needed the VSS. It needed _a_ VSS.

His…?

* * *

 **Apologies again for how short the chapter is. When life hits, it hits. Since my fics update five out of seven days of the week, it's sometimes hard for me to try and work around it. I'm sure you all know how it is.**

 **Either way, the die is cast here. Actions have consequences, always, and Jaune's in taking down the VSS have just as many.**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 15** **th** **July**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	49. Chapter 49

**Argh, Sundays. I actually hate them. Not sure why.**

* * *

 **Cover Art:** Kegi Springfield

 **Chapter 49**

* * *

"They want you to make a new agency?"

Ren posed the question with a measure of surprise, sat cross-legged on his bed with a raised eyebrow. Pyrrha sat nearby on her own while Blake pretended to read a book, but was clearly listening, bow removed, and ears pointed in his direction.

Telling his team the truth had been easier than it had Ruby, possibly because he could say with all honesty that they had never been a part of his mission, unlike Ruby. Ren and Pyrrha had been nothing but friends and teammates the whole time, so while they learned about him having a job outside of what he claimed, there were no real changes to their dynamic, nor complicated, sticky, ethical questions to work through.

"That's the gist of it," Jaune said. "They'll provide all the material, but I'd be the one in charge and making decisions."

"That seems like a lot of work for Atlas to go through," Pyrrha said. "Why would they help another kingdom so much?"

"I think it aids them more than they let on," Ren said. "Or maybe it's just a necessity. Atlas and Vale are allied, and this would only strengthen that, and Atlas no doubt recognises that their assistance or not, Vale will eventually rebuild an agency of some kind. They might as well have their fingers in the pie now, as it will give them a chance to shape it to what they desire. As for why they would want Vale to have one, information could be shared, and if Vale was essentially without surveillance, terrorists and criminals could hide here and plot against Atlas. It's in their best interests for us to be able to police ourselves."

"All of that," Jaune said, impressed with Ren's political nuance. "They want me in charge because I'm a known quantity. I imagine Ciel joining was their way of keeping an eye on me." Not entirely, as he was sure there _was_ genuine camaraderie there, but no doubt the ASF would also give her a mission to make sure he stayed on the straight and narrow. "All of the stuff about Oobleck and them wanting him in charge was probably true, but the main thing is that by having me in that position, Atlas can have influence."

"Is that a bad thing?" Pyrrha asked.

"Honestly, I'm not sure. Atlas _is_ allied, and like Ren said, they have an interest in us doing well – so I think they'll genuinely help." They would want the VSS remade in the image of the ASF, but that was fine. Jaune wanted it to be the same, most of all a group that could be held accountable for their actions, and not be above and beyond any law. "I'd just rather it wasn't _me_ who had to do it."

Blake chuckled in the background and turned a page.

"I don't know why you're laughing," he called. "Aside from being my partner, you're knee deep in this mess. Who do you think the first person I'll recruit is going to be?"

Her smug smirk was replaced with a frown she aimed at him over the top of her book. Pyrrha and Ren got a laugh out of it.

"Is this going to be a forceful recruiting, or do I have a choice in the matter?"

"Yes," he replied confidently.

"Yes? To which?"

"Yes."

Blake sighed. "Wonderful… I take it I'll at least have any criminal record I have wiped clean?"

"I can do that. Well, Atlas can."

"Great. I'm twitching in anticipation, eager to begin my gainful employment." Blake slowly turned a page and fell back into her cushions, showing no such enthusiasm.

"Are you going to extend the offer to us?" Pyrrha asked.

Surprised, Jaune looked towards his teammate. "Would you _want_ me to?"

"I don't know. Maybe. I'm not sure if any of my training would fit with the job, especially missions, but I could at least help train new recruits. They have to know how to defend themselves. I could do something."

"You could. But why would you want to?"

Pyrrha looked nervous. "Because, even if I don't, you and Blake will still have to. You're my teammates. I don't want to lose either of you."

"That… Pyrrha, I can appreciate that, and I don't want to lose you or Ren either," he said. "But that's not a good reason to work for something like this. Working for the VSS is dangerous and unrewarding. It's-"

"Irrelevant seeing as the VSS have been removed from the equation," Ren pointed out. " _Your_ equivalent will be as rewarding or unrewarding as you allow it to be."

"I… I guess…"

"And it's not like the work would be all that different," Pyrrha argued. "As a huntress I'd be going out to kill Grimm and protect the people. But if you and Blake have to stay, then I'd only have half a team anyway. And whichever I choose, it's still me working to protect and help people. Only one is against Grimm, and the other is against Grimm _and_ humans, criminals and terrorists."

"She has a point," Blake said.

"Does she?"

His partner dropped her book and turned to him. "You need to stop thinking about this in terms of the VSS. If you make a new organisation, it is going to be very different. It's going to be run differently. You can decide the policy, the recruitment, the training and so much more. If you wanted, you could even have spies work and train in teams of four like Beacon. It's all your choice. But if it's going to be a place to teach new spies, you'll want teachers. I can train people to be stealthy, but Pyrrha would be better for combat training."

"Exactly!" Pyrrha said, lighting up.

Jaune cringed. "I… I guess…"

"And I could work with aura if needs be," Ren said. "Or administration."

"You, too…?"

"Jaune, this is a team effort," Ren said, not unkindly. "You just finished telling us how Oobleck's team was torn apart by this. Do you want the same for ours?"

"Of course not…" He could see they weren't going to give up, so he held out a hand. "I promise I'll think about it, okay? It's not like I have to keep this a secret from you guys anymore, so you'll hear about everything, even if it's just me having someone to moan to."

That, at least, they seemed willing to accept.

/-/

A day or two passed in relative peace, or at least for most people. Jaune had given his answer to the ASF and rumours were already in of the SDC planning an expansion to Vale – nominally for the purpose of setting up a new depot and regional HQ. Jacques Schnee was already fielding questions in Atlas in which he extolled the virtues of Vale and why he felt an expansion there would help serve the SDC.

According to Ironwood, the Schnee family had no input with the ASF, at least not officially, but as one of the richest men on Remnant, the ASF often used him as a cover for any of their own purchases. Jacques Schnee could get away with often random-looking investments, since he already made plenty year on year. Jacques would know what it was being used for, but Ironwood assured him the man knew how to remain silent.

Of course, he wouldn't get a chance to see the property for some time. There had to be a period of the SDC at least _seeming_ to use it and it wasn't like he or the new VSS – which he really needed to come up with a name for – would be active so early.

"There are a lot of administrative details you will need to consider," Ironwood said. He sat on the other side of a desk in an office in downtown Vale, while Jaune and Ciel sat opposite. They'd each gone out into Vale on the weekend at different times and met in secret. "I don't expect you to know much about book keeping, let alone record requirements and how to balance a budget for recruitment, operations and resources. That, you will learn in time, but I would suggest contacting an accountant or a team of them to assist you."

"Right," Jaune said, fighting to sound like he knew exactly what Ironwood was talking about. "What about the Council? I want the new agency to be accountable in some way. Doesn't that mean I should speak with the Council and introduce myself?"

"It does, and I approve, but I would suggest waiting for now. Let the heat die down a little."

"You think the Council will be angry with me?"

"Yes and no. I believe many of them would be relieved to see the VSS gone, but images must be maintained, and they will be loathe to risk themselves by speaking out. Give it some time until the threat of the VSS rebuilding is gone, and they will become more approachable. In the meantime, I understand the ASF has made contact and at least explained the situation to them."

"Being told by a foreign power," Ciel quipped. "I'll bet they loved that."

"No doubt they were frustrated, but life is as it is," Ironwood said. He turned to Jaune. "Have you put any thought together as to a chain of command?"

"I have some people in mind." Jaune held Ironwood's gaze as the man waited for an answer, until eventually he realised that Jaune wasn't going to give him one.

"Ah, I see. Very well. I shall leave that to you."

"Does Ozpin know about this?" Jaune asked.

"Not yet, no. That is another reason I wanted to advise you to wait before approaching the council. Once they know, so too shall he."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"How good or bad it is depends on your opinion, Arc. If Ozpin knew, he would certainly try to influence or control you. He might even try to install himself as your superior."

Yeah, that wasn't going to happen. The whole point of making this new group accountable was that it wouldn't _have_ a supreme leader, or that at least while it was him, he could be ousted if he lost the plot or started to act anything like Alpha did. Blake had already promised to stick a knife in his back if he did.

And he still wasn't sure if he was supposed to feel relieved about that or not. Blake's smirk said she wasn't about to expand on it, either.

"I actually wanted to ask you something about Ozpin, General," Jaune said, leaning forward. "We _are_ working together now against Cinder, are we not?"

"We are. Ask away."

"Cinder told me that she desired a power that was taken from her, and that Ozpin is keeping it hidden in Beacon." He watched the General's face, which gave nothing away. "I'd like to know anything you have on this, since I'm the one who is going to be risking his life working undercover with her."

"Ozpin wants you to continue with that?"

"Yes. Though I'd have done so anyway."

"What has he told you?"

"Nothing." Jaune spat the word out, annoyed. "Ozpin hasn't told me anything. He just made a sound of understanding when I told him about it, and then said if she says anything else, I should bring the information directly to him."

At which point Ozpin would presumably come up with a plan to deal with Cinder. It sounded great, but he wasn't convinced. Cinder was no fool, and neither was Roman. Without knowing what Ozpin's plan was, he could neither evaluate or work with it. He could trust Ozpin blindly and hope for the best, but he simply didn't. Couldn't.

Ironwood let out a heavy sigh. "That certainly sounds like my old friend. Oz likes to keep things close to his chest, and this wouldn't be the first time he has alienated a potential ally by withholding information from them for too long."

"I'm willing to work with him, but I won't be kept in the dark. If I'm to control this new VSS, I need to know what we're up against." He wouldn't send Blake and Ciel to their deaths, and certainly not Pyrrha and Ren if they got involved.

"I can understand and respect that. I will provide what I believe you need to know. Tell me, has Ozpin told you anything of a person known as Salem?"

"Well, that's heavy knowledge," Ciel said over an hour later. Ironwood had already left, leaving the two to catch their wits - and their nerves - and depart the meeting spot.

"That's one way of putting it." Jaune ran a hand over his face once more. The things he'd learned weren't things he'd been prepared for. The cowardly part of his mind wished he'd not heard them at all, but the rest of him knew otherwise. Knowing this would save lives. His, for one, but also other people's.

"It makes sense, though. Knowing the Grimm are directed explains a lot of their actions, and the general animosity they feel towards us. Still, I can't quite understand how if she is the ruler of the Grimm, _humans_ like Cinder would work with her. What is there to gain if she's going to destroy humanity?"

"Maybe they're like Roman," Jaune said. "She might be trying to use this Salem to gain power, with the ultimate goal of betraying her later."

"Maybe," Ciel allowed.

Ironwood certainly hadn't held anything back, which Jaune appreciated, even if the things they'd learned had his stomach in knots. As the General had said, he couldn't be expected to defend Vale against its enemies if he didn't know who the enemy was. Not even the VSS had been aware of Salem, and that, he had to believe, was a mistake.

 _I can see why Ozpin kept the knowledge of her away from the general public. That makes sense. A panic would only draw more Grimm and do her work for her, but what's the point of hiding her existence from everyone?_

Did Ozpin really think _he_ and he alone would be able to beat her? It felt like it, since he'd apparently been waging a secret war – ineffectually, of course – against Salem for some time. Ironwood had been vague on how long `some time` was, but it had to be two or three decades, since Qrow and his team had originally worked with him.

At what point did Ozpin's actions become insanity? The definition was doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Ozpin might have argued his actions weren't failure because the Grimm had not destroyed the world, but was that accurate? The Grimm – Salem, rather – ruled over ninety-five per cent of the planet, with the people reduced to four major cities and a collection of smaller settlements which were regularly destroyed. By any metric, Salem was winning, and quite handily.

So, with all that in mind, why _continue_ to keep her presence a secret from those who could make use of it? The Council came to mind, or the Atlas military, or even the SDC since they were the richest company on Remnant. Surely if they knew about this, then even Jacques himself would be willing to assist, if not with raw power, then with lien and dust.

"It's stuff like this that makes me think the VSS had a reason to be so paranoid," Jaune said. "They acted like the world was ending and they had to make the harshest decisions, and in a way, they were right."

"You're thinking that if Ozpin had been more open none of this would have happened?"

"I don't know. Maybe." It sounded unfair even to him. Knowing what he did about the VSS now, he wasn't sure he _liked_ the idea of them knowing. What if they'd thought the best way to survive was to try and work together with Salem? It sounded insane, but it was no different from what Cinder was doing.

"Did you notice he didn't explain anything about this `power` Cinder is after?" Ciel asked.

Jaune nodded. "I did. Ironwood knows something."

"I'd be surprised if he doesn't. He _is_ the most powerful man in Atlas, and a close confidante of Ozpin. He's only willing to entertain telling you things about him because he genuinely feels Ozpin is making a mistake not doing so."

"But he's still loyal to Ozpin in the end," Jaune said. "Yeah, I can see that."

"He gave us a hint, though."

Jaune shot Ciel a look. He hadn't heard or seen of such. "Did he…?"

"He told us, or at least confirmed through silence, that there _is_ something in Beacon Cinder is looking for, and that the only ones who will know are Ozpin and those loyal to him."

"That doesn't help us much. I'd say that narrows it down to Goodwitch, Qrow and Ironwood – neither of which we can hope to approach and get any answers out of." Out of those, Qrow would ironically be the best bet, since he was sure the huntsman would at least respect what he'd done to save Ruby, and they had common ground on that front.

But even so, Qrow Branwen still answered to Ozpin. If he got too close to this secret, there was a good chance Ozpin would close the trap on him. The headmaster probably wouldn't _kill_ him, but he would put pressure on him to stop or just keep a closer eye on him. That would make figuring out the truth all but impossible.

"But didn't Ironwood just say Ozpin drove people away from him before?" Ciel asked. "That suggests to me there might be someone out there who _does_ know, and who _would_ be willing to betray Ozpin's trust."

Jaune came to a halt, Ciel beside him. He eyed her warily.

"Hey, I still have more training at being an agent than you. You'll pick this stuff up."

"Then I'm glad you're on my side. I think I know who we can talk to."

/-/

Yang was reluctant at first, but willing to set up a meeting once he fully explained his reasons. When she understood he wasn't trying to recruit her into the new VSS – and he didn't even bother wondering how she had figured that out – and once she realised it was to _help_ Ruby in the long run, she was firmly on side.

"Dad is still here in Vale. He isn't going anywhere until Ruby gets back up, and since the festival is starting in a few days, he figured he might as well stay for that," Yang explained, leading Jaune through downtown Vale. Ciel had been left behind because she still didn't know about Yang and he wanted to keep it that way, more out of respect for Yang than fear of Ciel.

"And you think he'd know what I'm after?"

"I think it's a fair chance. As I understand it, Dad and my `real mother` Raven were both loyal to Ozpin once," Yang made obvious air quotations around the mother aspect, pulling a face the whole time. "The whole team was, Team STRQ. Anyway, I was born, and Raven decided to run, or that was what I initially thought. Turns out time in the VSS opened my eyes a little."

"You thought she ran because of you," he said. "But you learned otherwise."

"Pretty much. Looking back, the whole running because of me thing didn't even make sense in the first place. I mean, she could have got rid of me in any number of ways, from abortion to a training accident or even a condom. Plus, she had nine months to think about it. Just as a kid you don't think about stuff like that."

"So, you think it was something related to Ozpin."

"I'm sure of it. Dad doesn't talk much about her, but I gathered from Uncle Qrow that she's pretty selfish, thinks about herself first and all that. I'm guessing she found out about this Salem character, or maybe about Ozpin's plans, and just ran out of there like a coward."

"I thought she was a super powerful huntress."

"She is, or apparently is, but so is Ozpin and Qrow and they've not been able to beat Salem. Nor had, you know, the entire human race up until this point. Maybe Raven was right, though I figure if she was really worried she could have at least, you know, talked to Dad about it before she made a run for it. Or at least stayed in touch." Yang shrugged. "That's why she won't get any sympathy from me, reason or not. Anyway, from what I understand Team STRQ were loyal for ages and then Raven just suddenly quit."

"So, whatever she found out, she only found out at that moment." Jaune sighed, connecting the dots. "Ozpin didn't tell _them_ anymore than he's telling me. He tried to keep it secret, and when they eventually found out, it blew up in his face."

Because _of course_ it would. You couldn't keep secrets like that and not expect at least some blowback when they were found out. He'd gotten just as much from Ruby, and that was just for betraying her trust. What must Team STRQ have thought when they found out Ozpin had involved them in a war against an almighty being, and they had no idea and no chance to step out. Instantly, they were made targets – and they never had a choice in the matter.

"Raven fled. Taiyang stepped out but at least stuck around. Mom – actual mom, Summer," Yang explained, "And Uncle Qrow stayed loyal to Ozpin. That's what I learned from the VSS, that Summer was basically Ozpin's personal huntress – the muscle to Uncle Qrow's scouting. No details on what they did, obviously, but I'm sure we can both say it was missions against Salem."

"Sounds like it. And then Summer must have been killed on one of them."

Yang bit her lip. "Yeah. That's why I panicked when Ruby got brought into Beacon. Ozpin already got Summer killed, intentional or not. I don't want him going for the full set, and I doubt Summer would want that, either."

"But Ruby would," he finished for her. "If she knew about Salem, Ruby would be the first person to volunteer."

"Yep. Now you know my pain."

He certainly did, especially given his own feelings for Ruby. He'd brought down the VSS for her, but he really had to draw the line there. His mind brought up nothing but blanks when he tried to imagine a way to bring down Salem herself. Other than using dust bombs to blow the entire Grimmlands away, and there was no way Atlas hadn't tried that at least _once_.

Ruby couldn't find out…

More secrets, huh? She would love that. Damn it.

"Speaking of Ruby… how is she?"

"Impatient. Stubborn. Annoyed to be stuck in a hospital bed. Troublesome." Yang rolled her eyes. "She's the worst person to have to deal with when she's injured, believe me. But if you're asking how she is around _you_ , then I'd say conflicted."

Jaune tried not to act like he was desperate for a better answer and failed.

"She's upset, Jaune. Of course she is. I told her about me, and she's angry about that as well, but it's a little different since I can honestly say I was tricked into spying on her. You knew what you were doing."

"I… Yeah. I guess I did."

"That's not to say she doesn't understand," Yang said. "But she hasn't made up her mind yet and that's eating at her." She punched his arm gently and smiled. "Don't worry so much. Ruby is the kind of person who always forgives in time. I'll work on her a little, see if she can't understand why you did what you did – and that you threw it all away at the end to save her."

"Thanks, Yang."

"Don't thank me. Just look after her." Yang stopped before a building, a pub of some sort, though given how early it was in the day, it was only half full. "Well, Dad's in here. You'll forgive me if I don't want to sit here and watch you two trade thinly veiled barbs. I'm meeting Nora downtown for a shopping trip. Need to buy Ruby some comics so she stops complaining."

Jaune waved as she left and stepped into the pub a moment later. The smell of alcohol and smoke hit him, but he forced his way through it, eyes searching left and right for the familiar figure of Taiyang Xiao-Long. It didn't take long to spot him. The man stood out in the same way any good huntsman or huntress did, someone who seemed to sit just a little taller, a little larger than life, especially compared to the slouched figures here and there getting drunk at midday.

The man nodded politely as Jaune sat opposite him. There was already a glass on the table for him, though to his disappointment Taiyang had bought him a grape soda instead of some bourbon.

"Yang told me you wanted to talk to me," he said. "Also told me what it was about. I hope you don't mind."

Jaune's eyes widened. "How much…?"

"Enough. About what you were, and what she was. Don't worry, I haven't told anyone. I know the importance of keeping secrets and I'm not about to put my daughter – or daughters – in danger by messing around with that."

"Thanks." He relaxed a little and took a sip, staring at the man opposite him. Taiyang was an odd figure, somehow both young and old at the same time. He could have passed for twenty-five based on his body and face, but his eyes made him seem ancient. "Yang told me a little about you, too," Jaune said. "About your team, Ozpin, and Raven…"

"Heh. I spent so long trying to keep that from her," Taiyang said whimsically. "I figured if I just acted like that didn't exist, Yang and Ruby wouldn't go looking. Guess I should have remembered what I was like as a kid. I couldn't let a question go unanswered, either. I just didn't expect there would be vultures waiting to take advantage of Yang like that. Some father I was to not even notice."

"The VSS made a career of doing things without being caught."

"A good father would still have paid attention," Taiyang said. "But you didn't come here to listen to me berate myself. You want your own answers."

"If you have them," Jaune agreed. "Or if you don't, and I know you won't like this question, but could you tell me how to get in touch with Raven Branwen?"

"You don't get in touch with her. That's just the way it is. But it doesn't matter; I can answer the questions. I know about Ozpin." He looked carefully around to make sure no one could overhear them, and then leaned in a little closer. "I know about Salem."

Jaune leaned forward, too, one elbow on the table. This was it. That was his cue. "How much do you know?"

"I know that Oz wanted us to be his weapons against her. I know that we weren't the first he'd tried to mould into that role, and I know he hasn't stopped since. Of course, Oz didn't tell us all that at first. He fed us information slowly. We did small missions first, always against the Grimm, always to limit their aggression. It was good work; huntsman work. We were all happy to be helping. Things grew slowly, escalated slowly, but escalate they did, and we never realised."

"What happened?"

"Qrow and Raven were sent to scout out a location and saw too much. Heard too much. Ozpin gave them a special skill, an ability. I'll tell you more soon, but just accept it for now. They were able to get close to certain figures and learn something Ozpin wasn't quite ready for them to learn." Taiyang sighed. "You wouldn't believe it to look at them now, but both Qrow and Raven were more alike than either cared to admit. They were both angry, furious even, and came rushing back to tell _us_ , not Ozpin. The team confronted him. We demanded the truth."

Taiyang sighed. "Ozpin gave it. And suddenly, the world was turned upside down. We weren't ready to learn about Salem," he said, "But I doubt we ever would have been. Problem was, we'd already become active agents against her – and the enemy knew our faces and names. When Raven and Qrow were the ones to find out the truth, we realised that Ozpin might never have told us the truth. Oh, he said it was to prevent panic and because we weren't ready," Taiyang said, pulling a face. "But the point of the matter was that we found ourselves dragged in without a chance to ever make our own call. We were trapped."

"When did Raven leave, then?" Jaune asked.

"Raven…" Taiyang brought a hand up to his face and drew a deep breath. His fingers splayed out, massaging his face and forehead. "Once Ozpin explained things, the team left to talk, to discuss. We were angry, but also conflicted. Summer was just like Ruby is now. She didn't care about what we'd learned. She was angry, sure, but still determined to fight Salem no matter the risk. On the other side, Raven was the opposite. She had no interest in the fight and said Ozpin betrayed us. She wanted us to back out, live our lives, fight to defend what we cared about, but not stir the rapier wasp's nest. Qrow agreed with Summer and Ozpin, which upset Raven to no end. Her own brother. But it was me who fucked it up worse."

"You agreed with Summer and Qrow," Jaune said.

"No. Worse. I abstained. I said I didn't know and let them make the call. I couldn't throw my lot in either way, and I _was_ afraid, and angry, but I also knew something had to be done. With the votes at two to one and one, the team threw their lot in with Ozpin. Raven did, too. Or… at least she pretended to. She stayed with us, with me, and I only realised a month or so later that she was pregnant with Yang. I was over the moon."

Taiyang paused to take another deep breath, and then to finish his drink. "I was so excited, you know? Or I guess you don't given your age. Raven and I made all sorts of plans, and she was involved, too, but always with this distance to her. Always with a bitter smile or a longing when she talked about what we would do. I never realised what it was until Yang was born, and until Raven made her choice."

"She left."

"Yeah. Left Yang with me, but she left the team, left Ozpin, left the fight. Qrow called her a coward for it. Summer was upset; I think she knew she had a part in pushing Raven away. But me? I felt awful. Raven was my wife. My love. I swore to always stand beside her and always care for her, but when she needed me most, I didn't do shit."

"Maybe she was afraid," Taiyang said. "Maybe she _was_ feeling like we had no choice, but _I_ should have seen that and confronted her. I should have let her talk to me, listened, and tried to make her feel better. But I didn't. I let Ozpin pull our team apart and I stood back and did nothing because Summer was team leader, and as far as I was concerned, it was their call."

"I'm not sure it's all your fault," Jaune said. "Raven made her own decision."

"She did, but if I'd been more aware, if I'd just asked her – or talked to her about it – then it might have been a decision we could have made together. As husband and wife. Honestly, I don't even blame her for leaving. I was crushed, obviously, but I can understand why she did, and I know she left Yang with me because she knew our daughter's life would be better on Patch."

"Is that when you decided to turn away from Ozpin?"

"No. That came a little later. Summer stepped in to help raise Yang, and I'll tell you now it was straight out of guilt originally. Qrow got angry at Raven, but Summer and I knew why it happened. We tried to hunt her down and talk to her, but, well, Raven knows when we're coming, and she knows how to get away. After a while, Summer and I were spending so much time together that we just sort of fell in love, and then we had Ruby. I stayed loyal to Ozpin, though obviously pissed off about it, but I didn't want Team STRQ to fall apart any more than it already had. And then Summer died."

"It was on a mission from Ozpin," Taiyang went on. "Qrow blames himself for it, but he was nowhere near when it happened, on the other side of Remnant on a different task, while I had to stay behind and look after Yang and Ruby. Summer and I alternated shifts to be parents," he explained. "Anyway, once Summer died, I called things off with Ozpin. I'd lost two of the only reasons I'd ever bothered in the first place, and I was going to be damned before I let Ozpin make orphans of my girls. Qrow didn't understand. Still doesn't. He thinks I made the right call, but he thinks it's because I didn't want to leave Ruby and Yang alone. He doesn't understand why I don't trust Ozpin, not when he's still loyal."

"Why is Qrow still loyal to him…?"

"Plenty of reasons. Ozpin gave Qrow a direction, a purpose. Qrow hated his original lot in life, and when he met Summer and me he really hit off on being a kickass huntsman. I guess Ozpin catered to that. Now? I don't know. Part of me thinks Qrow stays on because he believes if he quits, he'll be spitting on Summer's death. She died for this. He'll die to try and continue where she left off."

"That's…"

"Twisted?" Taiyang guessed. "Wrong? Stupid? Qrow didn't grow up in the same world we did, kid. His people saw life very differently, and if you met them, or even Raven, then you'd say Qrow is the most well adjusted of the whole lot. He's practically a saint compared to some of them. But saint or not, we don't see eye to eye on Oz. He kept secrets, and three quarters of my team paid the price for it. Now, you and Yang tell me he has eyes for Ruby."

"The VSS seemed to think he had eyes specifically for _her_ eyes," Jaune said, recalling the information on her file.

"Yeah, and they wouldn't be wrong. Tell me, aside from Ruby, how many people have you seen with silver eyes?"

"None," he answered honestly, "But is it that rare? I've heard of people with grey eyes."

"That's a shade of blue. It's different." Taiyang tapped a finger on the desk, lost in thought. It looked like he was trying to come up with a way to phrase his next words, so Jaune waited patiently, already content that Taiyang would tell him what he needed.

They both wanted to stop Ruby becoming another Summer Rose. They both wanted to make sure her team, and his, didn't end up like Taiyang's. Or even Oobleck's. Too many secrets and too many casualties.

Eventually, Taiyang spoke.

"Do you believe in magic?"

"Um…" The question threw him off guard, but he answered as best he could. "I believe in Semblances and aura… and that some of those can _look_ like magic."

"But do you believe in actual magic? Like wizards, magical powers and special artefacts?"

"No…"

"Then you might want to change your mind _real_ quick," Taiyang said ominously.

And then, he began to explain.

* * *

 **Not really a cliff hanger intended here, since if it's not obvious, I'm ending it here so that I can SKIP the conversation we all know the details to by now. Maidens, Relics, Ozpin is a Wizard, etc, etc…**

 **Oh, and Jaune will rebuild the VSS, but wants to make it different to how it was – make it accountable, etc. Well, as accountable as** _ **any**_ **real-world secret service is (NSA, CIA, GCHQ, MI5, etc…) but at least they** _ **can**_ **be challenged by Government, etc, if things go wrong.**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 22** **nd** **July**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	50. Chapter 50

**Entering the final arc.**

* * *

 **Cover Art:** Kegi Springfield

 **Chapter 50**

* * *

Magic.

Seriously…

Jaune didn't normally curse. His mom told him off when he did, and every single older sister tattled on him, so he got into the habit of not swearing all that much, but he felt this was a situation which kind of deserved it, because seriously, mother-fucking magic.

Oh, and Ozpin was a wizard – and possibly immortal. Nothing big, just, you know, a complete breaking of all laws of physics, biology and more. Not that he was too smart on sciences, but even he could tell `living forever as a wizard` wasn't exactly normal. Hell, he'd have accused Taiyang of making a joke of him if it wasn't for the serious look on his face. And the sudden realisation he had of what Cinder's powers were.

Magic, though? Come on…

This was going to put a cramp in his plans, big cramps. Oobleck taught him to work around everything he thought Jaune might run into, but obviously witchcraft and wizardry wasn't one of them. Did Ozpin have spells that could let him listen in on people? Well, no, obviously not, otherwise he'd probably be using those. Did Ozpin have spells at all? For a guy that was an immortal wizard or something, he'd been surprisingly ignorant of the fact the VSS was after him. He'd also not realised Ruby had been kidnapped and lost the last maiden to an ambush by Cinder.

What was the point of being a wizard if you were going to let all that happen? Oh, and there was Salem to contend with.

 _No. I need to focus on Cinder first and protecting Vale. If Ozpin wants to wage a war against Salem, fine. I might even help him. But the first thing is to make sure we have a home to protect and come back to._

But until the Vytal Festival began, there was precious little he could do. Roman was busy, Cinder wasn't responding to messages, and Emerald would only send back " _Be patient. Talk to you soon_." whenever he asked her what their next step was. There was still no telling what Roman's game was, either. He hadn't forgotten Roman's involvement in the death of Oobleck, nor forgiven it. Oobleck might have asked him to let it go, and he would, to a degree. He wouldn't go after the crook out of revenge, but he _would_ see him brought to justice. For now, however, he just wasn't as big a threat as Cinder was.

Meanwhile, Ruby was refusing to talk to him, Ironwood wanted him to make the new VSS, Ozpin wanted him to continue working undercover with Cinder and his team wanted him to recruit them or something.

Oh, and magic.

"I hate my life…"

/-/

The festival crept up on them without any real warning, or at least it felt like it. Obviously, the festival – and especially the tournament – was all the news channels would talk about, but their dorm didn't really have a TV, and when you spent every day fighting other students, you didn't want to spend the evening watching reporters discuss their favourites and odds for _more_ fighting among students.

The days were instead filled with a mix of light training, team strategies and general teamwork building – much of which had to be reassessed now that he and Blake had come out to the others, and Pyrrha wanted to incorporate their advantages into the fights.

"I'm not sure I see the point," Jaune said. "The whole thing is just going to be you carrying us to victory anyway."

"You don't know that. With your training, you might even be stronger than me."

"I think you're really putting a lot of faith in his training," Blake drawled. "He can't even beat me in a fight."

"You're not exactly weak," Jaune groused. "I think I'm doing pretty well to even hold you off for as long as I do, thank you very much."

"True, but I'm still no match for Pyrrha."

That didn't stop Ren suggesting they come up with tactics to use, of course, nor did it stop Yang from loitering around and spying on them – and Jaune had to stifle a laugh when Pyrrha loudly accused Yang of being a spy, to which the blonde acted with feigned offense and stomped away. They had no idea. Yang really played her part well.

He knew what she'd really come by for, though, to check on him and make sure he wasn't going to do anything reckless with regards to Ruby. She'd been excused from the infirmary a day or two ago, and they'd still not had a proper conversation to speak of. Yang assured him she just needed time, and that she was personally talking to Ruby to try and convince her to open up.

It hurt, but not as much as it hurt Ruby, no doubt. Jaune bore it with a stoicism that he didn't really possess, which was to say he threw himself into training and generally tried to distract himself. Luckily, Ciel helped in that regard, forcing him to work through paperwork he didn't even know existed just to set himself up with what would be required of the new Director of the VSS.

"You need a new name for it," she insisted as he signed another document, this time opening a business bank account with one of the largest and most secure in Vale.

"We do? Why not just call it the VSS?"

"Because you want to invoke change, and that's not going to happen while people are still seeing it as an extension of its former self. If this is to truly be a new start, then you must go all the way."

"Fair warning, I'm not very good at naming things…"

"You will want an acronym, or at least you'll want to put some thought into it. The Atlas Special Forces was initially considered to be the Atlas Secret Service, but you can imagine how unfortunate that would sound shortened."

Jaune snickered. "A proud agent of the ASS."

"Very mature." Ciel rolled her eyes. "Regardless, you'll want something that is indicative of our objective, but which does not sound too aggressive or intimidating. Something that could be said in everyday conversation, be overheard, and mean nothing to those listening."

"Vale Special Forces?"

"Something original," she despaired.

"Vale's Secret Organisation. Vale's United Intelligence Agency. Vale Intelligence and Recon. Vale-"

"In your own time," Ciel interrupted, one hand to her forehead. "Please. I can't concentrate with you rattling off the word `Vale` and an entire thesaurus worth of words associated to intelligence. Just consider it in your own time, and feel free to pass a list onto me with ideas or something."

Jaune grumbled but nodded along. "Can't you suggest some?"

"You don't want an agent from another country deciding your name. That would be ridiculous."

"I trust you."

"No, you're lazy and unimaginative," she countered, and Jaune flushed a little. She'd caught him. "If you try and foist this off onto me, I'll find some way to acronym VAGINA and sign you down as that. You're the Director, this is your responsibility."

"Okay, okay…"

He still hadn't managed to come up with a name now, two days later. It was harder than it sounded and anything he chose could potentially last for generations. He had to get it right on the first run, and the rest of his team were bad at it, too. Ren's suggestions sounded too dry, Blake couldn't be bothered to try, and it looked like they'd found something Pyrrha was actually _not_ skilled at for once.

It was a work in progress. Hell, the whole thing was so much of one that he might as well name the agency the WIP. But as the Monday dawned bright and early, it was to the sounds of excited chatter, parades in the distance – and a message from the most dangerous woman in Vale.

Cinder wanted to see him.

/-/

"John. I'm glad you could make it. Take a seat."

Jaune did so, back in his black suit and red tie for the first time in what felt like ages. The last he'd seen of Cinder was before the attack on the VSS, and there was no telling if his cover still held. She was smiling at him, but that could just as easily be because she was considering murder. Ciel, his team _and_ Ozpin knew where he was. If something went wrong or he didn't report back, they'd act.

Telling Ozpin had been difficult, but he'd agreed to work with the guy. It was just something he'd have to get used to.

With Cinder out of the picture for reading, his attention slipped across to Emerald. She was sat on a single-seater beside his and was leaning back into it with a relaxed expression. Jaune took that as a good sign. As much as Emerald might just be confident Cinder could deal with him, if she suspected there was a chance for violence, she should still have been at least a little tense.

"I'd like to thank you for that tip-off you found, John," Cinder said. "Roman and I investigated, and it turned out to be our little intruders after all."

"I knew it was. I saw one of them enter – in full mask, too. The idiot." He forced out a chuckle. "Did you get them all, ma'am? Do we still have to worry about them?"

"No. The entire building was destroyed."

"There might still be some out there," Emerald pointed out.

"Yeah, but they'll likely be scattered now," Jaune said. "Or at least that's how I figure it."

"You are both correct in a sense," Cinder said, smiling and sitting down opposite. "John is right when he says our enemies will be busy licking their wounds. As a threat, they simply don't matter anymore. That said, we shall not let out guard down entirely. While I don't expect a concerted effort, it's possible the survivors might try to exact a limited measure of vengeance."

"One final `screw you` before they get wiped out?"

Cinder smiled at his analogy. "Quite."

Jaune laughed along with Emerald, accepting a glass of wine as they celebrated with a quick drink. He had to wonder what they'd think if they knew one such survivor was literally with them right now and preparing the biggest turn-around they'd ever see. They'd be shocked, of course, at least before Cinder immolated him.

Ah, but it was nice to imagine that shock, and the horror she'd show as she realised he'd played her for a fool. Assuming he had, of course. No reason to get ahead of himself and mess it all up now. Eventually, Cinder raised a hand for silence.

"The festival has finally arrived. Today is the parade and the welcoming ceremony, but the tournament won't begin for another day and a half. It is, however, time for us to move onto the next stage of our plan."

"It involves Amity?" he asked. It was the only thing that fit with the timing, since it would be open for visitation at that time.

"Indeed. Originally, it was our plan to masquerade as students and attend Beacon."

Jaune almost choked at that. "W-What happened? To change it, I mean."

"You remember the incident with the Paladin truck, no? Emerald's cover was blown, not to mention we had no way to know if Ozpin was in contact with those people and whether they knew our identities. Going undercover was out of the question."

So, it was _his_ actions that stopped it? Well, his and Ciel's. Maybe even his and Vanguard's at Tukson's book store. Life would have been a lot more complicated if Cinder came in as a student, though potentially easier, too. Accidents could happen, even in a school as safe as Beacon.

"Our friends in the White Fang are preparing as we speak," Cinder continued. "And Roman is handling affairs on his end. We cannot act until they are ready, and I expect it will be the White Fang which is the slower of the two."

"Probably," he admitted. The White Fang _were_ less efficient than Roman. "Do we have a deadline to work to? Is there a time by which we'll _have_ to strike, even if we're not ready?"

"You ask a lot of questions, John."

Emerald and Cinder were both watching him. Jaune felt a trickle of fear worm its way up his spine but he shook it off and shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry. It's just that after working with Roman and the White Fang, I like to know everything about what I'm getting into. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. Or if you don't think I need to know."

"You like to be prepared."

"I do," he said. "And if I don't ask, I don't get."

"An interesting philosophy, but not one I find unappealing." Cinder regarded him a little more warmly. Not much, and she was still dangerously cold, but it looked like he'd averted any suspicion for now. "I'm afraid I'd rather not give you any impression of a deadline, though given what you already know we're working with, you might be able to assume one."

Amity again. Whatever she wanted, it had to be done between the time Amity opened to the public, and when it was decommissioned and sent on to its next destination. That gave it a week. A week in which Cinder would need to enact her plan, and a week for him to try and decipher and prevent it, without giving the impression he was doing so.

"Just tell me what you need me to do, ma'am. I'll get it done."

"That is what I like to hear. Tell me, John, how are you at working undercover?"

"I think I can handle it," Jaune replied, with what he felt was a remarkable straight face given the circumstances. "Who do you want me to go undercover as? Not a huntsman, I hope. I might be able to, but I'd need ID and the students are bound to notice someone they've never seen before."

"Not a student," Cinder allowed. "Just a regular citizen. And perhaps also a janitor."

The janitors? He'd have to check what access they had above the average civilian, but off the top of his head he imagined they'd be able to go _into_ the stands and back stage. Cinder either wanted access to something or wanted them to plant an object there.

"Sure. I can do that."

"Emerald will be going with you."

Ah…

"Are you sure?" Jaune asked. "I mean, I'm sure I can do whatever you need on my own."

"It is not a lack of trust that guides my hand, John. You will have need of her."

Not ideal. If Cinder wanted him in Amity, he'd have to be – but every student from Beacon there would recognise him, and it would only take one person calling out his name to screw him over. Worse, he might be called up to fight with his team. Going in on his own was fine, but only because he'd intended to pass the information on to Ironwood and Ozpin and let _them_ do whatever Cinder's request was. But if Emerald was with him, he'd have to do it personally, and without being called up to fight.

Maybe Ozpin could help there. If the matches could be rigged so he fought early or late, it might be an option to save him. In the meantime, however, all he could do was accept.

"Okay. Me and Emerald." He sent her a quick nod. "Is there somewhere I should meet up with you, Emerald?"

"The two of you can decide that between yourselves," Cinder interrupted. "You are to masquerade as a couple, however. It will aid you in some of the tasks that need to be completed."

"Which are…?"

"Emerald will have a full list and will be the one to give you tasks one at a time."

Balls. This was going all kinds of wrong. Had his cover been ruined? This definitely felt like anti-spy precautions, especially keeping the full list between only Cinder and Emerald. Of course, if he complained then Cinder would simply say it was to ensure that the White Fang didn't know all the steps, so that in the likely event of them being captured, they would spill nothing.

Jaune nodded. "I understand, ma'am."

"Again, John, don't think of it as a lack of trust…"

"We're just being careful," Jaune said, making sure to use the word `we` when referring to them. "I get it. We've already had the White Fang mess up, Mercury got killed and those masked guys interfered right up until you killed them all. It makes sense that you'd want to keep the full details hidden. I understand it."

"Good." Cinder leaned across the table suddenly and cupped his cheek with one hand. He froze. The palm of her hand was warm, but not overly so. He could smell lavender and mint on her. "You're intelligent and resourceful, John. You get work done and you do so without complaint. Those are valuable traits, and I can see a use for them in the future. Our partnership will not end here. When I leave Vale, you will be coming with me. With both Emerald and I. That is, should you wish to."

"T-Thank you," he stammered – and the embarrassment wasn't feigned at all. "And yes, of course. I don't want to work for Roman anymore and… well, I've got a feeling I won't want to be in Vale after whatever we pull."

"That, dear John, is all but a certainty."

"Welcome to the team," Emerald quipped. "Try to last longer than Mercury."

"I'll do my best not to let either of you down."

/-/

Ozpin considered his report with his eyes closed. The headmaster might have appeared asleep in his chair, but the light hum he let out as he considered the information belied that. It was odd to look at the man in front of him and think `oh, he's a wizard`, but that was exactly what he was thinking. He was also running through a mental check list of qualities and traits that Ozpin was scoring awfully low on.

No beard, no staff – a walking stick really didn't count – and no magical scrolls or tomes. Ozpin didn't wear a robe or a pointed hat, nor did he have any wild and wonderful familiars hidden away in his office. He was, by all estimation, a completely normal person.

 _That's what he wants you to think…_

It was a sad day when his paranoid utterings were probably one hundred per cent accurate. Jaune had a feeling that if he looked back through the history of Beacon, there would be a surprising number of headmasters and headmistresses who acted in a similar manner and might even have had similar names. It was kind of creepy to imagine.

"This is troubling," Ozpin finally said. "She would not provide you any details of her plan…?"

"I was able to intuit some," he said, "Like the fact it's on Amity and has to happen either on or before the day of the final match, but as for specifics, no."

"Does she suspect you?"

"I don't think so. I imagine this is just her reacting to the discovery a spy organisation was interested in her. She already said she's aware of the possibility of some stragglers from the VSS acting out against her."

"It's just bad timing, then," Ozpin realised. He sighed. "That is inconvenient. Still, thank you for bringing this to my attention."

"I don't know what to do about the day, sir. I need to meet and stay with Emerald." At least with his team in the know, he wouldn't have to juggle an additional secret. They'd be disappointed, but they would understand and cover for him. The real threat was Emerald herself.

"And you do not know _when_ that will be or where, and fear that if she sees you competing in the main ring, your cover will be blown. Yes, that is certainly a concern." Ozpin tapped his desk with one finger, the other hand bringing a mug of coffee up to his lips. He drank slowly, lost in thought. Eventually, he put the mug back down. "You will have to meet with this Emerald girl, Mr Arc. Play along for now, and I shall have Qrow keep an eye out for you in the crowd. If you see him, feel free to identify Emerald by holding her hand or arm."

"She has green hair," Jaune pointed out. "She's not exactly subtle."

"She may dye it, Mr Arc. It is better to be safe than sorry."

That was a fair point. Emerald's face was already potentially out of the bag as it was, so if she wanted to stay under the radar, a certain degree of disguise was necessary. He could give the signal, he supposed. It would be best if Qrow knew who to look out for if things went bad.

"Regardless, you've done well, Mr Arc. I realise this is a dangerous task, but rest assured we will act on your information to prevent any losses. You have my promise on that."

"Thank you, Ozpin." For all their differences, he did believe Ozpin would come through. Cinder was an enemy to them all. "What about the tasks from Emerald, though? Am I supposed to go through with them, or should I signal someone, or…?"

"Without knowing what they are, you shall have to use your intuition, I'm afraid. We don't even know if they will do this on the first day or not. She might go with you one day and just walk around in order to allay suspicion. They may strike immediately. It will be up to you to decide whether it is safe to complete their tasks. If it is not, cause a scene. I will have Qrow close to you at all times. If it seems innocent enough, or at least the danger is not imminent, then you may go ahead and do what they ask. Just be sure to remember and inform us what was done later."

"Got it. I'll need some cover from other teams and the main tournament, though."

"Hiding from other students should not be difficult. Simply come in disguise."

"I could do that, but then what happens if I need to fight?" Jaune asked. "I can't just wash black hair dye out and jump into the ring in the same outfit I've spent the day with Emerald in. If I even leave her for half a second, there's a chance she'll smell a rat."

"Hm. Leave it to me," Ozpin said. "I shall speak with Ironwood and we'll see what we can come up with between us."

It was the best he would get. Jaune nodded. He had to resist the temptation to ask about the maiden, or the Relic, or any of the things Taiyang told him. Some problems weren't best faced head on, and he already had the general gist of Ozpin's plan. Keep the Relic hidden and heal the wounded maiden, or, failing that, find someone to foist the maiden's powers onto.

The question was who, and what was he to do about it? It had to be someone in Beacon. Trust issues aside, he didn't think Ozpin knew any women below the age of thirty that he could trust. Winter Schnee was an option but aligned to Atlas and Ironwood. Even if they were allies, it was clear Ozpin preferred to rely on his own judgment than Ironwood's. Miss Goodwitch was definitely too old and that only really left the students.

Ruby? It might explain why Ozpin brought her into Beacon two years early, and all the focus on her that the VSS had picked up on. But that might also have been the silver eyes thing Taiyang mentioned. If not Ruby, then whom?

And more importantly, who would _he_ prefer it be?

 _Blake would be ideal, but I doubt Ozpin will go for that. Even if he didn't know she and I worked together, he knows she is ex-White Fang, and the fact she's my partner hardly helps. She's too independent and doesn't trust authority figures._ A bad choice as far as Ozpin was concerned. Pyrrha was an option, especially with her skill, but again Ozpin might balk at having the power on someone who Jaune could influence.

Still, he wouldn't have objected to it being Pyrrha. She'd already offered to work for him in the future, which meant he could fill her in on the maiden's responsibilities and they could support her if she was ever in danger. Not control, not like Ozpin perhaps wanted to, but they could provide Pyrrha all the resources she needed to look after herself.

Other than that, there was only really Yang, Weiss and Nora he could think of, at least that he would be able to work alongside. Nora was too loyal to Ren and too unpredictable for Ozpin to want to work with, while Weiss had the same issues as Winter. But Yang was a real possibility. Ozpin didn't know she'd been VSS, and neither did Qrow. Given her closeness to Ruby, Ozpin might believe her the most easily controlled. Ruby was going to become a huntress anyway, so as long as Ozpin kept Ruby happy – not a difficult task – Yang's loyalty would be assured.

Or so they might assume.

 _Yang would pick up on the manipulation instantly, and unlike anyone else she'd not react to it without thinking about it. Even if she doesn't want to join the new VSS, she would probably feel comfortable enough approaching me. We could work together to keep it safe and out of not just Salem's hands, but Ozpin's, too._

Yang would be ideal – so long as she agreed. He didn't want to burn the bridges between them by pushing Ozpin into believing her the best choice without first speaking to her. He'd have to corner her later and explain his suspicions.

That explained the maiden, but it didn't explain _his_ presence or involvement. Oobleck once pointed out that Ozpin would have known Jaune's transcripts were fake, and that he'd still gone ahead and allowed him into Beacon, no doubt keeping the fraudulent papers from anyone else who might realise it, since Miss Goodwitch obviously didn't know. She'd have castigated him if she did.

So that raised the question; what did Ozpin want from him? He couldn't be a maiden, and without Oobleck's mentoring he'd been fairly useless in a fight, too, so it couldn't be that Ozpin wanted him to be some kind of bodyguard to the potential maiden. Realistically, he'd been useless. There was no advantage to having him in Beacon.

Unless…

Did Ozpin want him…? How old was Ozpin's current body? Even taking Cinder out of the equation, Ozpin had to be getting close to retirement age – and if he really could hop from body to body, it wouldn't make much sense for him to hang onto one that was falling to pieces around him. Rather than leave it to fate, why not train up a potential new host?

If Jaune was weak and desperate, and if Oobleck hadn't picked him up, then Ozpin might have been able to offer training and support, at which point a less experienced Jaune might have accepted, becoming loyal to Ozpin.

And if he really was looking to make someone close to him the maiden, then what better host for Ozpin than someone who is close to the maiden? Someone who might have her friendship, if not her loyalty.

Jaune shuddered at the thought. He had no proof, but if it was true, he wanted nothing to do with it. His body was his own. His _soul_ was his own.

Hopefully, he'd become too much of a security risk for Ozpin to try that now.

"Something you wish to ask, Mr Arc?" Ozpin questioned.

Jaune realised he'd been silent too long. He stood and bowed his head. "Sorry, I was just lost in thought. I'd best go plan how to keep an eye on Emerald. Was there anything more you needed from me?"

"Nothing for now. Goodnight, Mr Arc."

"Goodnight, sir."

It took a monumental amount of effort to walk casually to the elevator. He wanted to run.

/-/

Yang sat down on Ruby's bed and placed a hand atop her head. Her sister was face down on her pillow, quiet and lost in thought. She had been ever since she woke up and given the subject matter she couldn't explain why to Nora or Weiss.

"You know, Weiss is on the verge of pulling her hair out with worry," Yang said softly. She knew Ruby was listening. "She still blames herself for what happened."

That got a reaction. Ruby lifted her head just a little and frowned. "I told her not to…"

"Yeah well, it's easy to say that, harder to actually do it. You got kidnapped because you were trying to find her, because you were coming to meet her sister. As far as Weiss sees it, if she didn't ask you to do that – or if she'd just come _with_ you – then it wouldn't have happened."

It wasn't that easy, of course. The VSS might have struck even with Weiss there. Oh, they wouldn't kidnap her – she was too well-known, too dangerous – but they might have drugged her, too, and then dumped her somewhere to be found by her team or the authorities. Weiss would not have known who took her, and the police would be helpless to find Ruby.

"Ugh, I'll talk to her later," Ruby said. "It's not her fault." She grumbled under her breath about how Weiss always called _her_ the idiot, and yet was now being just as bad herself. Yang smiled pointedly. She'd always thought the two were like peas in a pod, both being kind of socially awkward in their own way.

Still, it gave Yang the opening she was looking for.

"Speaking of talking to people, you going to talk to your boy-toy anytime soon?"

Ruby pushed her face back into her pillow.

"Come on," Yang pressed, rubbing the back of her sister's head. "You know he's sorry, Ruby. He didn't keep it from you because he didn't trust you. He did it because he didn't want you dragged into this mess. He did it for the same reason _I_ did; because we both cared enough about you to deal with it ourselves."

"Still not fair," Ruby mumbled.

"I know – and I really am sorry." It was unfair, but what was also unfair was how on a technical level both she and Jaune had made the exact same results, and yet Ruby forgave her but would not him. She knew why, of course. She was her sister. It was harder to hold a grudge there, while Jaune was the first person Ruby had opened her heart up to. That kind of betrayal stung. "He misses you, you know."

Ruby pushed her face further into the pillow.

"He tries to act like it doesn't bother him, but ever time I see him he asks how you're doing. I figure he wants to come and see you himself but doesn't want to push you. Even if it hurts him, he wants to give you space."

"Are you trying to make me feel guilty?" Ruby growled. "Stop it. He's the one who lied to _me_. I got _abducted_ because of him. I got drugged up. I got… I got…"

"I know, I know." Yang soothed Ruby by stroking her hair. "And I hate them just as much for it. I _killed_ the one responsible, along with Jaune's help. But the thing is, he didn't know any of that would happen when the two of you got close. You wanted to get involved after the dance. He was still a loyal part of them at that point. There was no risk to you, so it's unfair to say he knew all this would happen. And when it did… he did everything he could to help you, including giving himself up to Ozpin."

Ruby didn't respond other than to grip her pillow a little tighter. It really was hard for Yang to fully understand what her sister was going through. She'd never really fancied a guy properly, other than in a purely physical kind of way, admiring someone from afar. She'd always been too busy with the VSS to really want to try anything. That work tended to age you a little, and no one in Signal had felt mature enough for her afterwards.

It kind of sucked to think that _Ruby_ of all people was beating her to love and romance first, but she couldn't bring herself to feel too bad about it. She was free from the VSS and could now do whatever she wanted; that was enough to cheer her up.

"Just give him a chance," Yang said. "Talk to him. If not for him, then for yourself. You're miserable, Ruby, and it's only going to get worse if you let this fester. Maybe it won't work out. Maybe you'll decide this was too much and you can't be like that anymore, but you could at least be friends again. If nothing else, the closure will help you move on."

"Why does everything have to be so complicated?"

"Heh. I think if you asked dad that, he'd still say you don't know the half of it. Your potential boyfriend is an ex-spy, current undercover agent and someone who was hired to spy on you – and yet it's _still_ not as messed up as Mom, Dad and Raven was."

Ruby giggled.

"Just give it a go," Yang said. "I won't ask anymore but talk to him."

"I… I'll try."

"That's all I ask."

* * *

 **Moving on, skipping to the festival now. About to go out and clean my car since my father decided he wanted to take it to be cleaned as a favour for me, but also took my puppy Kali so that she could get some fresh air and a walk while it was being cleaned by valet.**

 **So, he does that, all is fine – but on the way back Kali gets motion sick in a freshly cleaned car and throws up** _ **everywhere**_ **.**

 **Damn it, Kali. This is revenge for all those Blake fics. I just know it.**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 29** **th** **July**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	51. Chapter 51

**It's started to rain here in England. Yes, finally! I stood out in the storm yesterday with my shirt soaked through and my hands held towards the heavens. Well, for at least five minutes anyway.**

 **But I'll tell you what** _ **is**_ **good. Getting into the hot tub under the gazebo while it's the middle of a thunderstorm. Bottle of wine on the side, hot tub, and the cold, cold air with heavy rain. Nothing beats it.**

* * *

 **Cover Art:** Kegi Springfield

 **Chapter 51**

* * *

"In position," Jaune whispered as the crowds walked by on either side of him. Amity was packed and the noise of so much chatter threatened to overwhelm him. Still, he was able to hear Blake's reply come through the earpiece if he tried hard enough.

" _Roger that. We've got eyes on the members of Team RYWN."_

"You'll make sure they don't come anywhere near me?"

" _I'll send warning if they do. Yang agreed to help."_

"Good. Emerald should be here any moment. Radio silence from me."

" _Understood. Have fun on your date."_

Jaune rolled his eyes at the last little quip from his partner. When they'd first known one another, she'd seemed too serious for jokes, but he'd come to realise it was just her brand of humour, especially the sarcastic one liners. Still better than Yang's puns, he supposed.

Speaking of Yang, it was a relief she'd agreed to help, if only because as a part of Team RYWN she could keep them distracted. Ruby technically knew his fake identity, but the irony was that he wasn't in it. Cinder wanted John White to go undercover, which meant the black-haired man had to dye his hair something different. Blond, for instance.

He was now an undercover agent going undercover and coming full circle, back to Jaune Arc. He'd reached complete meta.

Sadly, that brought with it its own list of problems. Everyone and anyone could and would recognise him, especially people from Beacon. They couldn't cover everyone, even with Blake, Ren and Pyrrha helping, but most people wouldn't bother to come and talk to him. He wasn't that popular. The problem was close friends, which was why Team RYWN would be a risk, along with their current tag-a-long Penny, Ciel's odd, and possibly undead, friend.

Jaune kicked one foot against the floor impatiently and checked his scroll. No news from Emerald, even though he was at the rendezvous point. People were still arriving however, so she might be delayed. He'd heard constant mention of just how many people would be coming to the tournament, but seeing the crowds now, and the hundreds of vehicles which flew them up, hammered the point home. If Cinder was planning something here, she'd have tens of thousands of innocent people held hostage.

A fresh set of transports landed down ahead, with at least another two hundred or so people streaming off them. Most were in groups and quickly wandered off to do their own things, but there were a few who were obviously looking or waiting for people. One of them caught Jaune's eye, a brunette with short hair brushed into a wild style. Her red eyes scanned the crowd and fixed quickly on him. Her expression was filled with immediate relief – and he realised a second later because a man about their age or two years older followed, trying to chat her up.

Emerald crashed into Jaune and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. She pulled herself up and pressed her lips to his, and though there was no actual kiss - or at least no movement other than their lips squashing together unromantically – Jaune felt his cheeks heat up. He barely had the presence of mind to bring his hands around to rest on the small of her back, more for support than to keep up the charade.

The man, seeing his opportunity fading, shot Jaune a frustrated glare and stomped away. The moment he did, Emerald pulled back and wiped a hand over her mouth. "Sorry about that," she grumbled. "Idiot didn't know how to take no for an answer."

"I-It's fine?" Realistically speaking, that was only his second kiss ever, though even then it was hard to call it a kiss. There hadn't been any real emotion behind it.

"He's lucky he didn't get shanked. If I didn't have to keep my cover…" Emerald sighed and crossed her arms. She looked him up and down. "Not bad, but blond? I wouldn't have pegged you for that."

"All the better to blend in, right? No one would think I'd change my hair this much."

"True. I'm surprised you managed to dye it so well. Black to blonde is tough, and I can't even see any dark roots."

"I spent a lot of time on it," he lied. "You, though? Brunette?"

Emerald stepped back and ran a hand through it. "You like?"

"I… Well, it's not bad. I think you look better with green, though." The dye job itself was well done, though he could, if he looked hard enough, see a tinge of green around the roots. Someone would need to get close for that, however. Not much else about her had changed, but it didn't need to. The images of her in the newspaper were vague at best, with her distinctive hair being the most defining thing about her.

"I'll take that as a compliment," Emerald said with a chuckle. "It was this or black and I didn't want to stand out that much."

Apart from her brown hair and red eyes, Emerald wore a white cardigan over a black tee, with grey trousers and black boots. It was casual and bright, which some people might have thought a bad idea for someone working undercover, but which he knew was best. Those that tried too hard not to stand out inevitably did, while Emerald's tight-fitting black shirt would ensure any attention on her was lower than her eyes.

He'd gone for something similar, albeit less flattering. Blue jeans, not ripped like his normal ones, black shoes and a purple short-sleeved shirt. He'd originally had the amusing idea of wearing a "Team Pyrrha" tee-shirt, one designed and sold by one of Pyrrha's fan clubs, but she'd taken one look at it, gone bright red, and then mysteriously and accidentally destroyed it. Ren had still been smiling even as Pyrrha stammered out apologies and offers to buy him a new _plain_ shirt to replace it.

"A lot of people here," he remarked as the two walked side by side towards the main carnival area of Amity, where the multitude of food, game and souvenir stands dotted the plaza. "Things are going to be pretty hectic until the tournament starts. Should be quieter after that."

"Hm." Emerald shot him a sideways glance. "Do you have seats in the stands?"

"Do we need them?" he asked in turn. "I was kind of waiting for you to decide what we were doing."

"Typical man," Emerald scoffed. "Don't you know that if you invite a girl out on a date, you're supposed to plan ahead on what you're going to do together?"

"One, no, my dating experience is null and void." He rolled his eyes when Emerald snorted. "And two, _you_ are technically the one who invited me." Or Cinder did, anyway. "That means you should be showing me a good time."

"Incredible. Where's your masculine pride?"

"Dead and buried long ago. I'm used to being around scary women I'd be better off listening to."

Emerald laughed and bumped her arm against his. Her smile was coy. "That's not a bad approach. Mercury was an asshole, but you're a lot easier to get along with."

"Should you be talking ill of the dead like that?"

"I don't see why not. He'd be the first to do it if things were reversed." Emerald sighed and hooked her hand under his arm, linking them together. When he looked down to her she nodded her head to the side, indicating the others around them who were walking in a similar fashion. They needed to blend in. "Not much to do until things quieten down," she murmured. "We just waste time until the fights start."

"Got it," he whispered back, and then spoke a little louder. "So, any stalls you want to visit? Do I need to show my prowess and win you something?"

"On these blatant scams?" Emerald asked loudly, ignoring the irritated look a stallholder shot her. "Not worth the effort, or the lien. Let's get some food. I'm starving."

The food court was busy when they arrived but there was a wide variety of stands, so they picked the one with the smallest queue and soon found themselves sitting on some picnic benches a little further away with a burger nestled on a bed of salad each, pretending the latter somehow offset the calories of the former.

There was a close call when he caught sight of Ruby, but Yang saw him first and subtly diverted Ruby away, saving them. If Ruby had seen him, he trusted Yang could explain. He hoped she would. Before his staring could be construed as anything such, he turned back to Emerald and blurted out the first thing he could think of.

"How did you end up working with Cinder anyway?"

Emerald froze. "What?"

"I'm just curious. Making conversation." He shrugged. "You know how it worked for me, but what got you started? How long have you been with her?"

"A while now," she said slowly, taking a bit of her food every now and then. "It's nothing special. Cinder helped me out of a bad spot. I was on the streets and probably wouldn't have survived much longer on my own. She gave me a place to be, something to work towards."

"Criminality?"

Emerald shrugged but made sure to look around to see if anyone was close enough to overhear before she replied. No one was. He'd made sure of it. "Better this than death. It's not what I expected when I was younger, but it's the best chance I ever had. Cinder gave me a purpose and a home. I'll repay her for that, no matter the cost."

"So, you're doing all of this out of loyalty?"

"Pretty much."

"And if Cinder decided she wanted to dedicate the rest of her life to saving injured puppies?"

"I'd be there." There was no doubt in her voice, no hesitation.

He wasn't sure what to make of it. The world wasn't black and white, but he'd at least been happy to say the shades of grey were indicative enough of one's view. Loyalty, though? That was a fairly good trait – if only Cinder wasn't what she was.

"I guess not everyone gets into this kind of life because they wanted to," he said.

"Some don't have a choice," Emerald agreed. "Cinder is better than many in that regard. She expects a lot and she won't put up with failure, but at least she doesn't recruit people at the barrel of a gun. She gave me the choice to come with her. She lets me do what I want so long as I don't cause her any problems. And if I do, she threatens me, sure, but it could be a lot worse. She's given me plenty of second chances. That's why me and Mercury didn't get on," she admitted with a sigh.

"What do you mean?"

"Mercury didn't do all of this for any good reason. To him, hurting people was a game, or for fun. Sometimes he could come across normal, but at other times he'd do something pointlessly cruel for the sake of it." Emerald sighed. "He dragged me into killing some faunus runaway before. We could have done it subtle, but he had to go in the front door like an idiot."

"And you didn't like him because he was reckless?"

"No," Emerald said. "I didn't like him because he was a sociopath. If he'd done it for loyalty like me, belief like the White Fang, or hell, even for money like Torchwick, then I'd have been fine with it. At least those make sense. But he would kill for the sake of it." She sighed and picked at her burger. "I don't know if he was looking for answers, entertainment or just something to do with his life, but he was twisted. He had no good reason to come with us or stay loyal other than the fact he knew something big would happen if he stayed."

"He wanted to see it," Jaune guessed. "Live or die, success of failure, he just wanted to be a part of something big."

"Pretty much. He was messed up – and it was probably more his dad's fault than his own, but that didn't make him any more trustworthy. Don't tell Cinder, but I'm glad he died. I'm glad he's gone."

"I won't say anything."

"And hey," Emerald said, suddenly a little more cheerful, and teasing. "His death opened up a spot for you to join – and you're easier to talk to, you listen, you don't make stupid wisecracks _and_ you're not some kind of sociopath."

Jaune laughed. "You say it like those things don't include, like, every normal person on Remnant."

"I'll take what I can get, John. Compared to Mercury, you're a saint."

He laughed, even as he hid his doubts in a swig of soda. This had to be as much a test from her and Cinder as it did a mission. Mercury had been a loose cannon, and they wanted someone a little more reliable.

"What about you?" Emerald asked. "What convinced you to shack up with someone like Torchwick?"

And there it was, the question. She'd buttered him up with her past, true or otherwise, and now expected him to return the favour. It was clumsy, he supposed, but only because she didn't have to be subtle about it. Wasn't like he had much of an opportunity to back out now.

"Roman wasn't so much my first choice as the only choice. I wanted to be a huntsman, but I wasn't good enough, and suddenly I had no skills and qualifications other than knowing how to fight. What was I supposed to do, open up a coffee shop?" He grinned when Emerald laughed. "In the end, I had to earn money somehow and Junior was the only one hiring. Roman was a step up, with a promised pay packet a little higher than Junior's, all for a little more risk."

"You're in it for the money then?"

"Not entirely. Everyone needs money to get by, but I was in it because I had to be. A guy's got to make a living and my skills didn't really apply anywhere else. It was this or starve."

"Necessity."

Jaune shrugged. "I guess…"

"Not a bad reason. Not the worst, anyway. Why do you want to join up with Cinder, then? That seems like a bit of a jump. It's not like Mercury or I got paid a salary."

"Roman betrayed my trust."

"Ah." Emerald grinned understandingly. "So, you wanted a new employer. One that wouldn't do the same."

"White Fang was out of the option for obvious reasons, and there wasn't anyone else in Vale who could fit. I won't claim to know everything Cinder is after, but considering she got by this far with just you and Mercury, I figured she's someone who looks after those who work for her."

"Unlike Roman, who would throw someone away if it was to save his own skin," Emerald guessed. "Yeah, I can see that. White Fang are just a bunch of martyrs and Junior's gang is a joke." She finished her burger and licked her fingers clean, flashing him a smile afterwards. "Stick with us and we'll see you looked after, John. Mercury's death, much as I hated him, was a freak occurrence. We didn't know who or what we were up against and they got the drop on us. But those guys are gone now. Destroyed. They're not going to be a problem anymore."

"I guess so, Emerald. I guess so."

/-/

"They're just sitting there talking," Qrow reported.

" _Most likely Mr Arc's companion is waiting for the crowds to diminish,"_ Ozpin replied, voice audible through Qrow's scroll. _"Keep watch on them for now, but once the tournament starts I need you there."_

"What about these two?"

" _Trust Mr Arc to look after himself. I have to go, Qrow. I'm expected to give a speech."_ The call ended a moment later and Qrow stuffed the scroll back into his pocket, sparing another glance for the spy and the terrorist, both of which were smiling and laughing together like old friends.

Qrow wasn't sure how the kid managed it. He was no stranger to keeping secrets, but it was easier not to say something than to lie convincingly. That this kid, less than half his age, could do so in front of people who could, and would, kill him if they knew the truth, was both incredible and distressing.

Children shouldn't be forced into shit like this. Bad enough Oz wanted Ruby as a huntress, but at least if all went well she'd be nineteen when she graduated, and she'd have her sister to look after her. Taking some seventeen-year-old on to play undercover against some of the most dangerous people on Remnant left a bad taste in his mouth.

It was even worse since they were now countenancing it. What the VSS did was wrong, even if it was necessary, or they convinced themselves it was. An adult could have played this role just as easily as a kid and been more experienced for it. They needed _someone_ in there, but it didn't have to be someone Yang's age. It was easy to hate them for that…

And now here they were, him and Ozpin, allowing the kid to do the same. Necessity, Ozpin called it. Cruel necessity.

Maybe it was.

But it still left a sour taste in Qrow's mouth. This made them alarmingly similar to the kid's old employers – better that they wouldn't turn on him, but still just as bad in their own way.

"It should be me down there," Qrow growled. "I should be the one risking my life for this. I should be doing _something_."

Nothing sucked as bad as being useless. Summer wouldn't have sat by while something like this happened, but Qrow had never been the same since she'd died. Few of them had. She'd left them all diminished in some way. Even Raven, no matter how little his sister would admit it.

It should have been him back then, too.

The kid stood up, along with his associate. They walked together past a bin, dropping their litter within. As the announcers began to call that the tournament would start in fifteen minutes, the crowds began to excitedly make their way towards the stands.

All except the two of them, who slipped behind some tents in the opposite direction.

Did he follow?

Ozpin said otherwise.

Trust the kid. Jaune.

But was that really trust, or just a willingness to sacrifice Jaune if it came to it? A part of him wanted to shadow along to provide held if needed. But if by doing so, he put the kid in danger, he'd never forgive himself.

"Damn it all."

He'd hold back for now – and hate himself for it later. Just another thing to add to the ever-growing list. But next time this had to happen, he'd talk to the kid first and ask what _he_ wanted. It was the least he could do to pay him back for saving Ruby.

With a heavy heart, Qrow made his way to the stands.

"Good luck, kid."

/-/

"This doesn't feel right," Pyrrha whispered.

"He's safe," Blake replied. "He's done this before."

"I know, but we're a team. Or we're supposed to be. I don't like the idea of leaving him to do this on his own. What if something goes wrong?"

"Then he'll deal with it, and he can reach me if he needs to." Blake tapped the earpiece she still wore. "We can be there in a moment." The words didn't do much to calm Pyrrha, and Blake could understand why. "Look, this is how it's always been," she explained. "What Jaune does… it's not something a team can always work alongside with. Most of those times he and I were out together, he was the one in real danger and I was just sat somewhere close by, watching and waiting in case he needed me."

And she'd hated that back then, just as she did now. In a way it was nice to have people to share the frustration with. Pyrrha wore it obviously but Ren was far subtler, frustration only showing in the way he gripped his drink a little tighter than necessary.

"I won't say it gets any easier, but it's the way it has to be. All we accomplish if we try and tag along is putting him in danger."

"I know that. I just… I just hate not being able to do anything."

"We're not doing nothing," Ren said, speaking for the first time. "We're providing support. Just by being alert and ready, we tell Jaune that we can react at a moment's notice to support him." He looked to Blake. "That's what you're trying to say, is it not?"

Blake nodded. "Yeah, it is."

"We covered for him with the others too," Ren went on. "If Jaune's identity as a student were revealed to that girl, his life might be in danger. I hope Ozpin has something planned for today. If our team is called to fight…"

"Jaune said Ozpin would handle it," Blake said.

"He did, but I question how. While I'm sure he can prevent our team being called up to fight _today_ , we have no evidence that Jaune won't be busy tomorrow. And surely these people are watching the tournament. If Jaune fights at all, his identity is put at risk."

"We could forfeit," Pyrrha offered. When they both stared at her, she shrugged her shoulders. "I don't care for tournaments anymore and it's not like this isn't more important."

"True," Blake said.

"It would be too suspicious," Ren countered. "Ignoring the fact the public expects to see us – or Pyrrha, specifically – fight, there's the fact that we've made plans to do so. Nora would never believe that I'd decided to forfeit, and I'm sure there are plenty of others who would be equally suspicious. We'd draw more attention to Jaune than not."

Pyrrha grimaced, and Blake could understand why. She was too famous to not compete, and even if they gave up now the late-night news would question why a former champion had done so. It would be the talk of the tournament, and there was a good chance their team and its members would be brought up in such. Ironically, Jaune's name and face would be circulated even more if they gave up.

"How about a disguise?" Pyrrha suggested. "For Jaune, I mean. A mask or a hood."

"Wouldn't work. The aura monitors will show his face and name, and people who know him would question why he was trying to disguise himself in the first place."

They were cut off by the roulette wheel in the centre of the arena beginning to spin. Despite assurances that Ozpin would handle it, Blake still tensed as the teams were selected, paranoia setting in.

To her relief, it settled on Team RYWN against a team from Vacuo, called Team NDGO. When their friends left for the arena, Blake joined in with Pyrrha and Ren on cheering and wishing them well.

If it came to it, though, Pyrrha had a point. They needed a way out of being called up to fight. It would be a shame to miss their chance in the tournament, but this was just more important. And besides, in a way whatever they did in Beacon wouldn't matter. They all had places in the new VSS once their education was over if they wanted it.

It was hard to sit still and watch the fight knowing that something big was happening in the background. Harder still not to show any reaction or signs of such knowledge. Blake wondered how Ciel managed it, but the former ASF Agent gave away no such secrets, stood further to the side with Penny, a pensive frown on her face.

Something big was coming. They could all feel it.

/-/

Emerald tapped her foot and waited for John to come back from his little scouting trip. They were inside the back chambers of Amity, where staff and volunteers kept the tournament running from behind the scenes.

John was an odd one, Emerald felt. She'd spoken no lies when she said she preferred him to Mercury. He was more focused, more serious, and generally less of a pain in the ass to deal with. Like Cinder, she also approved of his ability to get the job done, even if it ought to have been beyond his abilities. She might have found that suspicious, but she was starting to realise it was just how plucky the guy was.

Footsteps suggested someone was coming close. Emerald took a hold of her Semblance, but let it go when blond hair and blue eyes crept back around the corner.

"It's clear," John said. "A couple of people in uniform further up, but they were all rushing back to the main stands."

"Good timing on our parts then," she returned. "Let's go."

John nodded and followed, the two keeping to a fast walk but trying not to look too suspicious while doing so. This was a restricted area, but they could still fall back on being lost or bumbling teens looking for a quiet spot to fool around if they had to. Not so if they were caught creeping or skulking in the shadows. If it were just one person to find them, she could also put them under an illusion and slip by.

"What exactly are we looking for?" John asked, not for the first time.

"You'll know when we find it."

He grumbled but didn't argue. Another thing she liked. She knew he was frustrated at the lack of trust, and to be fair she would be too, but at least he had the sense not to make a meal out of it. Such secrecy wasn't her choice, either. Cinder's orders were absolute.

"Neo would have been useful for this," he commented instead.

"She would have," Emerald agreed, "But Cinder's not sure how far she trusts Roman anymore, and Neo is fanatically loyal to him."

John looked surprised. "You think he'll turn on us?"

"I think he'll do what he can to save his own skin. It would be stupid to actually betray us, but if he can find a way to get away with it and escape, I think he'd give it a go." Roman was a coward like that and they'd always known it. Threats kept him in line, but the closer they got to the main event, the less time they had to focus on him. "It doesn't matter much. He has his place in the plan, but Cinder has contingencies in place if he goes rogue."

"Enough to deal with him?"

"Enough to make him regret the day he ever tried to turn on us," Emerald snorted. She turned left, through a door labelled communications. "In here. Close the door behind you." She paused to rummage around in her pocket and draw out a scroll, a special one designed by someone Cinder seemed to both hate and respect. "Keep an eye on the door while I hook this in to the main systems. Anyone comes, give me a shout as warning."

"Should I try and knock them out?"

"Only if they attack us. Still better to surrender and play idiots than tip Vale off."

"Got it."

Cinder's orders again. This was a delicate point in the plan, and one where she could royally mess things up, and that was something Cinder would never forgive her for. It was honestly a miracle the White Fang had managed to keep the planned attack on Amity quiet as it was. Maybe that was because Adam had them all outside the city itself, collecting Grimm in the forests. A thankless task and one she was glad to have no part of.

It didn't take her long to find the main machine Cinder had shown her a picture of. It connected to the main commentator's booth above, but this was where analytics software would record and pick out moments for the main screen, which those above could then commentate on. Most of it was handled by limited AI designed by Atlas, little more than sensors and subroutines that could pick out the most explosive bits of action and focus cameras on it.

It was sophisticated code, but code nonetheless. It could be cracked. Emerald peeled off a strap on the back of the scroll to reveal a sticky surface. Connecting it under the desk of the main system, she drew out two wires and plugged them in. The scroll's screen flashed but there was no immediate reaction. That was a relief. Her own scroll pinged a second later. Cinder's message said the connection was made, which meant their first job was done.

"We're done here," she called to John. "Onto the next spot."

"Which is…?"

"You'll see when we get there," she repeated.

He sighed. "Alright, alright. I'm just trying to help."

"If you want to help, carry this," she said, tossing him a small satchel she'd been wearing under her cardigan, strapped onto her back. He caught it and looked down on it. "What's in it?"

"One or two nasty surprises. Don't drop it."

John flinched. "Bombs!?"

"In a manner of speaking. Nothing you need to be worried about getting killed by, though. They're designed to take out computer and power systems in a radius. Electro-magnetic pulses." Emerald gestured to the computers surrounding them. "Pretty useful considering how much of Amity is run by them. Should also deal with those robots Atlas brought along."

"We're planting these in the stands, I guess."

"Got it in one – but _under_ the stands is the main goal. They're not designed to kill anyone directly, but they'll make life easier for our side. More importantly, it'll make the evacuation efforts that much more difficult."

"We're keeping the evacuees here?" he asked. "Are we taking them hostage?"

"Nah, just using them as a distraction."

The two of them ducked into a store room. It was filled with crates of dust, and a prime spot for the first charge. She beckoned for him to bring one out, and she started to fix it on the back wall, out of sight.

"These will keep Beacon and Atlas' attention focused on Amity while we hit Beacon for the main objective. Longer it takes to evac them all, the longer we'll have to bring Beacon to the ground."

"Assuming it's undefended…"

"Even if it is, we'll be enough. The White Fang are coming in big numbers and Roman has his place in the plan."

"We're using the White Fang as a distraction, then?"

"Best use for them," Emerald scoffed. "While they're busy getting glut on bloodlust, we'll be in and out with the objective. Whether Beacon falls or not hardly even matters. Vale will be too busy trying to handle the aftermath of this and hunt down the White Fang to care about us."

"Nice plan," John commented. "Let's hope it works as intended."

"Ha. I wouldn't worry about that. Cinder's thought of everything. We'll be fine."

"Everything…?"

There was a distinctive click from behind her, and the cool sensation of a barrel being placed to the back of her skull. Emerald went still.

"Are you sure about that?"

* * *

 **Jaune of the one-liner coming in hot.**

 **Oh Emerald, you're going through a crazy range of shit in my stories at the moment. Insanity in Captain Dragon, Retainer in White Sheep, childhood in Relic and now this. At least Jaune bought you a burger, which means the timelines have been preserved.**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 5** **th** **August**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	52. Chapter 52

**Hey everyone. This is a critically short chapter because I'm just very, very ill. It's been there all week, but it's related to some fairly serious stuff I'd rather not talk about right now, so I won't. Needless to say, I couldn't get much more of this done. This is actually content written yesterday, with me intending to finish it today.**

 **Sadly, I couldn't. Apologies for that. Hopefully things will even out next week.**

* * *

 **Cover Art:** Kegi Springfield

 **Chapter 52**

* * *

Emerald stilled.

She considered her options.

The barrel against the back of her head.

The enclosed room.

No witnesses.

The perfect murder.

There was no way she was getting out of this alive; Emerald quickly realised. Maybe if she had information she could give – but he knew she wouldn't betray Cinder, so it wasn't even worth taking her alive. Whoever he worked for. Even letting her live this long was a risk, which raised the question of why he was letting her.

Surprisingly, she didn't feel afraid. Not because she thought he might spare her – he wouldn't – but because there was no uncertainty. No fear. Emerald's hand brushed against her waistband, touching her scroll. She felt it vibrate silently as the call went through. Cinder would hear everything. If that was the only thing she could do to pay Cinder back, so be it.

"You're not going to get away with betraying us, John," she said firmly. The word `betray` would make it clear for Cinder's sake. "I trusted you. Guess that makes me the fool."

"Heh. I guess it does."

Emerald turned, aware he might kill her in the doing so, but determined to see his face when she died. He allowed her, if only because there was no hope. More than anything, it would let Cinder catch a glimpse of him. It would let her understand. Emerald took pleasure in that, if nothing else. Even if she wouldn't be around to see it, she could revel in the thought of the smirk being wiped from his face.

"Cinder will find out, you know."

"Oh, I'm sure she will. But not soon enough to save you."

Emerald shrugged. "Probably not. Still, you're not nearly as clever as you think you are."

"And you're not as observant as you think you are, _Emmy_."

Her eyes narrowed. The tone was wrong, and John had never called her that. The only person who had was-

The door at the back slammed open. John – another John – appeared in it. He was bloody and bruised.

"Emerald! It's Roman. He-" John cut off in horror.

"Guess the cat's out of the bag," the John before her quipped, grinning widely. With a shatter of light, blue eyes morphed to green and blonde hair to bright orange.

"Torchwick…" Emerald gasped.

"Consider this my resignation, Cindy."

Roman pulled the trigger.

John – the real John – collided with his arm. The shot went high, pinging off the ceiling and slamming into a wooden crate.

Emerald was already moving.

She kicked out with one foot, catching Roman in the knee and dropping him with the help of John's weight. She scrabbled for Roman's gun when he dropped it, but the click of a heel warned her to roll away a second before Neo brought her rapier down. They were both here. Shit. They must have been watching them from the start, and they'd taken John out when she sent him ahead to scout the corridors, replacing him with Roman under an illusion.

Of all the times for Roman to try and turn on them, it had to be now.

"Damn brat!" Roman growled, grappling with John. "I should have killed you weeks ago!"

John didn't waste time with words. He managed to get on his knees and slam a fist down into Roman's face. Roman reached out and gripped a wrench off a shelf and slammed it into the side of John's head in recompense. He fell back with an agonised cry.

Still, it was a chance. There was a chance for her to get out of this alive. But only if they worked together.

"John, keep him busy. I'll deal with Neo!" Emerald snapped, already moving for Neo, by far the greater threat. If she could just get the girl trapped in her Semblance – preferably before Neo trapped her in her own – then the fight would be over.

First one to get caught died. Not odds she liked.

They traded quick kicks and punches. Neo was a whirlwind, and flexible in a way no person should be, but every moment she spent dodging and flipping was concentration not spent on weaving an illusion to trap her. Emerald penned her in against a wall and tried to wrap her Semblance around her, only to feel it drift off like oil on water.

It was the only warning she got – but it was enough to have her break off and hurl herself aside. Right as the blade slammed in from behind her, an almost certainly fatal blow.

Neo had her in an illusion before the fight even started.

They just needed to hold on. Shots had been fired. Someone had to have heard and raised the alarm. Between two teenagers in casual clothing and a wanted criminal and his accomplice, it was obvious who the huntsmen would go after. They could play around this. They could come out on top. She could get back to Cinder again.

Just had to buy time…

Something caught her on the cheek. Something metal. Aura flared, and Emerald fell, scrambling to recover. A foot stomped down on her ankle.

John tackled Roman off again. They crashed into a steel storage shelf and toppled it over. Wreckage and equipment scattered across the floor. Emerald grabbed something, a piece of rebar, and brought it up just in time to block Neo's thrust.

 _Come on. Why is no one hearing this?_

Neo slipped under her guard, twisting her wrist to make her drop the rebar, and then slammed the pommel of her sword into Emerald's jaw. She barely had the presence of mind to duck afterwards, an inch or two before Neo took her head off, aura or not. Something caught her eye on the floor – Melodic Cudgel – knocked aside after John saved her from Roman.

Emerald dove for it, rolled and brought it up like one might a rifle. The scope popped up, but she ignored it, firing from the hip in the vague direction of Neo.

Something went wrong. Melodic Cudgel bulged and expanded, the shot misfiring. Metal warped and heated as the red dust ignited within the barrel, causing it to explode in her hands and fling her back. Emerald's back lit up as she struck the wall and slumped down.

John cried out in agony a second later, pinned to the floor by Neo's sword through his stomach.

Emerald barely heard the rush of feet approaching. About fucking time…

Or was it too late?

"Looks like we've got company," Roman said. "Clean up here and let's go." He chuckled as Neo drew her sword out of John, earning a whimper of pain from him. Emerald glared at them both, unable to move her hands as Roman knelt down and took the scroll from her hip. He saw it was active and cursed suddenly.

"Bad luck, Roman," Emerald wheezed. "She knows."

"Yeah, well it won't help her." Roman threw the scroll down and stomped on it. He ground his heel through the screen. Melodic Cudgel was wrecked, but he brought up a handgun to point directly at Emerald's face. Her aura was so low she knew she wouldn't survive the shot. "And it won't help you too much either, Emmy."

Roman smiled as he pulled the trigger.

"Goodbye."

/-/

Jaune gasped for breath as he slumped down against a wall, one hand held to the sword wound in his stomach. His other shook as he brought out his scroll, fighting against the nauseating feeling of his insides bleeding out. In a panic, he dialled the number, praying it would be answered.

In the background, he heard people running past his hiding spot, boots echoing as they shouted for guards, caution – and soon after, a medical team.

It wouldn't help Emerald.

The call was answered. Cinder's face appeared. She was angry. _"John."_

"R-Roman," Jaune gasped. "Roman turned-"

" _I know. I heard everything."_ Cinder's voice was clipped, angry. Furious. _"Where is Emerald?"_

"D-Dead. I'm sorry."

" _You escaped?"_

"Not sure I did." Jaune brought the scroll away a little, showing his wound. "I can't go to a hospital with this. Do you know anyone…?"

" _Go to the medical tent. I have a White Fang insider stationed there. He will see to you."_

"What about the mission?" he asked. "What about Emerald?"

" _Both are lost to us now, John. Roman has taken them away. But he will pay for that. He will pay for daring to betray me."_ She cut off with a snarl. _"If you are questioned, deny everything. Claim that you and Emerald came across Torchwick planting explosives and challenged him. He killed her and tried to kill you."_

"I understand, ma'am."

" _I will have new orders for you soon, John. This changes nothing."_

"I'm sorry, Cinder."

" _There is nothing you or Emerald could have done differently. Roman will pay."_

Jaune ended the call with a hoarse laugh, one that broke off with a wince as the pain came rushing back. Emerald was dead, but his cover was still intact. Maybe good things did happen to bad people.

When next the footsteps hurried by, Jaune groaned loudly.

They paused, and soon the door was being pulled open.

/-/

The news broke hard, even if most never even realised it had happened until after the fact. The noise from all the cheering, not to mention the fights themselves – which had gunshots aplenty – ensured that no one placed a murder for what it was until the body was found.

As always, the media got a handle on it before anyone else did, ensuring that the news was sent out long before the Council could try to put a spin on it.

He counted himself lucky that he was too injured to pay attention. He'd been found by the emergency responders after making enough noise to draw attention. His story was what Cinder demanded of him, and although he wasn't sure everyone there believed him, it ultimately didn't matter. Ozpin and Ironwood were the only real ones with the power to arrest him and they both came in on his side.

Ozpin gently asked the doctors to leave once he'd been stabilised. When they were alone, the headmaster let out a heavy sigh and sat down.

"I must apologise, Mr Arc. I didn't expect your being undercover to be so dangerous."

"It wasn't supposed to be. Roman…"

"I heard, Mr Arc. Does this mean he has turned on Cinder?"

"Looks like it, sir. Might be a good thing. Apart from this." Jaune gestured to his stomach with a weak smile.

"Apart from this, yes," Ozpin agreed. "The doctor tells me you shall make a quick recovery once your aura kicks in. The blade managed to avoid any important organs. A feat of luck on your part…" He trailed off, almost suspiciously.

"You think I arranged this on purpose?"

"I'm not sure what to think. You've proven you can be quite the resourceful young man."

"Killing Emerald would have been a waste," he said. "She had information. Not to mention if I wanted her dead, I'd have felt more comfortable doing it myself. N-Not because I _like_ killing," he quickly assured Ozpin. He really didn't. "I just mean that I wouldn't have gotten myself stabbed just to do it. I could have just shot her when she wasn't ready, and her aura was down."

"That is true, I suppose. What of your cover? I'm not sure we should send you back to Cinder after this."

"We don't really have a choice, sir. She expects me back."

"It is dangerous. Perhaps too dangerous."

"It's always been dangerous," Jaune pointed out. "Like it or not, this is how things are. It's too late to say someone like me shouldn't be in a situation like this. Far too late."

Ozpin seemed to age before his eyes. "Yes. I wish it wasn't so…"

Jaune snorted. Yeah, he bet the old man did. But wishes didn't change anything, and this still had to be done. "How is my cover on this end? Did the authorities accept my excuse?"

"They did once I validated it. As far as anyone is concerned, this was a tragic encounter between two teens lost in the bleachers, and a criminal up to no good. Better still, this will let us act in some capacity without tipping off Cinder," Ozpin said, cheering up a little. "So long as we only react to Torchwick, it should not raise suspicions."

 _Glad to see there's a benefit to my being stabbed._

"I guess that's a good thing. Anyway, you probably shouldn't be here, sir. I think Cinder would have questions as to what we talked about in private."

"Then simply tell her I asked about Roman, and the nature of the explosives you witnessed him placing. I think it would be more suspicious if I didn't come to talk to you." Ozpin nodded towards the flaps leading out of the tent. "You have a police escort at the moment. There's nothing I can do to get rid of that, but it should be sorted out tomorrow. As for the media, I did manage to keep your name hidden. They are referring to you as John Doe."

"Kind of ironic."

"I thought so too. Either way, there should be no mention of Jaune Arc, which ought to keep your cover clear. Those who tended to you have been informed that they must keep your identity secret – in case Roman comes back to finish the job, of course."

Jaune nodded gratefully. That ought to be enough to keep Cinder's mole calm.

"I'll leave you to rest for now, Mr Arc."

"Thank you."

As Ozpin left the tent, Jaune let his head fall back onto the pillow.

"Check, or checkmate?" Jaune wondered aloud.

His eyes felt heavy.

He'd figure it out in the morning.

* * *

 **Criminally short, as I said. I just can't write any more to it as I need to go off and see a doctor. Not well is not well. Sort of a miracle I managed to force Relic out as it was. Sorry about this. It hopefully won't be a thing that repeats all that often.**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 12** **th** **August**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	53. Chapter 53

**Thanks for the understanding last week. I have a few things going on health wise at the moment, so sometimes I feel okay and other times I just feel like I want to sleep twenty-four hours a day, no matter how much I have already. I'm sorting through them.**

 **On with the fic!**

* * *

 **Cover Art:** Kegi Springfield

 **Chapter 53**

* * *

Back in Beacon's infirmary, Jaune sighed as he experienced his first taste of leadership. Or bureaucracy. It was hard to tell which. Kitsune had looked at his injury and proclaimed it on the mend, but she wanted him in overnight just in case. It didn't let him escape, however.

"No one from Beacon paid any attention to you," Blake said. "Some may have seen you, but no one who knows you well enough to point it out. There was a witness to Torchwick, though. Someone saw him running away from the scene."

"That's not a big problem. Did anyone see me being stretchered away?"

It was Ren who answered. "Not that I could see. Pyrrha, didn't you go down to the cafeteria earlier and look for rumours?"

"I did," the redhead replied. "People know that _someone_ was hurt, but they mostly think it's a civilian. I was going to spread some rumours of them being in Vale General Hospital, but someone already beat me to it." She chuckled. "It's surprising how much people like their gossip around here."

"You'd think they'd have bigger things to focus on," Jaune laughed. "So, I'm in the clear? No one knows?"

"As far as we can tell, you are." Blake said. She shuffled nervously and looked to Ren and Pyrrha, something he didn't miss.

"Is something wrong?"

"We were just talking between us. Something came up."

"Yeah?"

"With Emerald dead and Roman gone rogue, do you really _need_ to keep working undercover with Cinder? You've already done enough to weaken her. Sooner or later, she's going to realise everything started going wrong when _you_ appeared on the scene."

"We're worried about you," Ren said what Blake was dancing around. He looked to Pyrrha, who nodded back. "We all are."

"I'm worried too," Jaune said. "But I can't back out now. Not when we're so close to finishing this. Cinder has lost everyone, but we can't let her escape or go to ground, or she'll come back stronger and better equipped."

"But we'd be better equipped at that point too. If we start up the agency and recruit, we'd have a lot more to work with."

"We have a good portion of the Atlas armada here. We're not going to get a better chance than right now."

"Is that what you really think, Jaune?" Blake asked. "Or are you just determined it has to be now for some other reason? Oobleck, maybe."

His breath caught.

"I'm not trying to be cruel," she assured, "But Oobleck wouldn't want you to get in over your head and be killed. Your job is to _stop_ Cinder, not finish her once and for all. We have no idea what her capabilities are, or whether she has more allies she can call in if things get desperate."

"She doesn't know I'm the traitor."

"Jaune, there's _no one else_ for her to suspect," Ren calmly said. "It is _literally_ you and her, and maybe the White Fang, but I doubt they were in the know about her operations. With Roman gone, you're the final option. She is going to kill you."

"Only if things go badly. Hear me out," he said, before they could argue. "With Roman gone, she's going to think _he_ was the mole, and that this was the final attack. It already looked like he tried to frame me thanks to Emerald seeing Roman under an illusion, so Cinder will be more likely to see him as the traitor. I'll admit, if her plans get leaked one more time, it's definitely me, but that's only _if_ they get leaked. If her plans go well, she'll trust me. All I need to do is make sure that the next time I plan to betray her, she's captured or killed. No more second chances."

"That's still ridiculously dangerous," Blake snapped. "Were I her, I'd kill you now just to be safe. She has to be thinking about running."

She might well have been. Cinder had been angry when he'd called her, but that was right after her latest plan was foiled. With time cooling her temper, she might think it wiser to take a break and let the heat die down.

If that happened, they'd almost certainly lose her, and his in with her, since he wouldn't go with her and she'd realise the reason why. All the headway they'd made would be for nothing.

Not nothing, he tried to tell himself. It would have protected the city and everyone on it. But it would _feel_ like they'd been short-changed. After all the shit Cinder was responsible for, he didn't _want_ her to run away with her tail between her legs. He wanted her dead, or captured, but preferably dead and no threat to anyone.

Was Blake right? Was he too involved in this?

Maybe.

"What about the White Fang?" Jaune asked to the other girl in the room, Ciel. She'd remained silent throughout but stepped forward, far more composed than the other three. She pulled a quick salute.

"Ironwood has had his ships begin scans over the forests surrounding Vale. He has located two posts which seem to report unusual activity, but as of yet has decided to make moves on neither. He provided me the reports and asked them brought to your attention."

"He did?"

"General Ironwood is in support of your becoming the head of the new VSS," Ciel said. "I believe he hopes he can work with you against the White Fang, and thus did not want to move in the event it compromised any missions you might have in the area. Or if the attack might alert the target and cause her to flee."

That was good. He'd have to thank Ironwood later. "Can you pass a message back onto him for me?"

"Of course."

"Tell him to keep an eye on them and continue the scans. Should they move toward Vale in force, ask him to shoot them down immediately." Jaune paused to meet Blake's eyes, knowing she'd feel the strongest about the order.

Blake sighed and closed her eyes. No complaints. She knew what had to be done.

"I'll pass it on," Ciel promised. "None of them shall reach Vale."

"But what do we do about Cinder?" Pyrrha asked.

Back to this again, huh? Luckily, he'd been thinking while everyone else talked. "The way I see it, there are two options. I'd rather deal with her now and not let her escape, but I can see what you're saying about that being a risk. A needless one," he admitted reluctantly. At the end of the day, protecting Vale was the main goal. "The other choice is that we go after her objective and remove that from the equation."

"The maiden," Ren said, having been filled in with the others after Jaune's meeting with Taiyang. "It's not a bad decision. Whether or not she survives to run away, if we control the maiden, she will have to attack _us_ , not Vale."

"That means Blake or I," Pyrrha said. "Or Ciel, I suppose."

Ciel shook her head. "It would be unwise to trust me with the responsibility, given my dual loyalties." She held up a hand to forestall their complaints. "Whether you trust me or not, we have no reason to believe Atlas will not become compromised in time. The best way to keep the maidens safe is to do what has been done already and keep one to each Kingdom."

"So, it's between us, then," Blake said, nodding to Pyrrha. "It's not something I like the sound of, but if it's to stop it falling into the wrong hands…"

"As long as neither of us suffer for it," Pyrrha added.

"You won't," Jaune promised. "Whatever happens, you'll both have your place in the VSS. You're my teammates. I'm not going to forget that. And neither is Ren."

"Of course," Ren agreed. "In fact, the best way to keep the maiden hidden would be for them to continue on life as normal. Both of you intend to stay with the team after Beacon, and both intend to train and grow stronger. The decision on whom, if it can even be called that, is immaterial."

Pyrrha and Blake relaxed.

"We'll play it by ear," Jaune said. "Right now, Ozpin has the maiden."

"You're working with him, aren't you?" Pyrrha asked. "Can't you ask him permission, or maybe put one of us forward? He's going to have to transfer it to someone eventually."

"I don't think Ozpin would like me doing that. We're working together, but I get the feeling he doesn't exactly trust me that much. Not with something so big."

"He will want the maiden under his influence, as well," Ciel said. "That is General Ironwood's warning to us. He knows that we know."

"But he's willing to keep it secret?"

"For the moment."

"Does that mean he supports the idea of us having the maiden?"

"Or maybe he just doesn't support Ozpin having it," Ren pointed out. "He _did_ lose the current wielder, after all. Ironwood might be frustrated at what he sees as Ozpin's lackadaisical approach to the maiden's protection. Perhaps he thinks we can do better."

Jaune wasn't sure but nodded anyway. To him, it felt like Ironwood was giving them the chance to prove it but nothing more. Maybe he thought the safest thing would be to pit them against Ozpin and see who won. If Ozpin's defences kept them away, it would be proof that Ozpin was best to look after her. If not, then it only proved that the maiden was best kept in other hands, because it would mean Ozpin clearly wasn't giving it the attention it required.

"Either way, Ozpin won't put Pyrrha or Blake forward as candidates," Jaune decided. "He'll be too cautious of anyone that connected to me. That might exclude Ruby, too. And certainly Ciel."

"Weiss Schnee will be out of the question due to her family name," Ciel said. "And her connections to Atlas."

Jaune nodded, conceding the point. It still left a whole lot of people, many of which could be girls in higher years that they just didn't know. Coco Adel was one such option, and Ozpin might be able to assure her loyalty if he convinced her Velvet's death was due in part to the people chasing after the maiden's powers.

Really, getting rid of the maiden seemed harder than continuing his infiltration of Cinder's trust, but that didn't mean it was an angle that should be abandoned. It would be something the others could work on while he was busy with Cinder.

"Perhaps instead of discussing how best to convince Ozpin, we should try and find out where the maiden is kept first," Ren suggested.

"Makes sense. Cinder seemed determined it was in Beacon."

"Somewhere close enough for Ozpin to react to it if needs be," Blake said. "In the main school building, not in a hidden spot outside."

"Not anywhere it can be seen, either," Pyrrha said.

"Underground?" Ciel suggested. "Or perhaps even above."

"In his tower?"

"Possibly…"

"It's somewhere students can't go," Jaune said. "Finding it is going to be your job while I'm busy with Cinder. Blake, I might need you for some White Fang work, but otherwise help Pyrrha and Ren. Don't look for the maiden. Look for locations students are barred from. Areas you can't access."

"What about me?" Ciel asked.

"Ciel, I want you to try and work on Ironwood. He has to know where she is."

"I doubt he will give that information freely."

"No, but he might let something slip. It's a long shot, I know, but do whatever you can – and whatever you feel safe doing."

Ciel nodded. He wasn't sure she'd feel confident enough breaking into Ironwood's room, but she still had contacts in the ASF, and those might be willing to give her something. It was more than what they'd otherwise have.

"What about the Festival?" Pyrrha asked.

"I'll be competing in today's fight," Jaune said. "I'm good for it, and Cinder still thinks I'm stuck in a hospital room, so it won't ruin my cover. In fact, it might solidify it to see Jaune Arc and John White in two different places."

"We going to win?" Ren asked. "It might make life easier for us to lose. Our being depressed would explain why we spend so much time in Beacon while everyone else is on Amity."

That wasn't a bad point…

"Pyrrha is too famous," Blake countered. "If she loses, everyone will want to know why. It'll be all over the news. Our faces, too."

And that put a nail in that idea. "No, we'll do as best we can," he decided. "If we lose, we lose, but we'll try to win like normal. I think we've got a good chance of-" Jaune cut off as the door to the infirmary opened. A head poked through, followed by a body.

Blake, Pyrrha and Ren exchanged meaningful looks.

"We'll leave you to talk," Blake said.

"Get well soon, Jaune," Pyrrha agreed, stepping past him with a smile. Ciel followed, and soon the infirmary was vacated, all apart from him in his bed, and his sudden visitor, who even now hovered by the door, unsure if she should come further.

Eventually, she sighed and strode forward.

"Jaune," Ruby said. "I think we need to talk…"

/-/

The glass shattered on the back wall, spraying wine like blood across the wallpaper. It seeped down, precluded by the tinkling shards that clinked to the floor. The noise created an odd juxtaposition with Cinder's laboured breaths.

Everything was falling to pieces.

First Mercury, then Roman and Neo, and now Emerald. Two dead, and two traitors. With a furious scream, Cinder snatched the half-empty bottle and hurled that at the wall too, following it with a blast of fire that incinerated anything that remained, and a nearby chair.

It wasn't enough. Not for her rage. Not even nearly. She wanted to _break_ something. Someone.

If only Roman were around, she might take her time making him scream. Mercury had been bad enough, but Emerald, she had been an investment. She had been _useful_.

Now, she only had John. Resourceful, yes, but not tried and tested. She did not know his loyalty. It had been Emerald's job to determine that. He had been Emerald's suggestion, even involving him this far in the first place. Now, Emerald was dead.

John's fault?

Her first instinct was to say no. She'd seen through Emerald's scroll the end, how Roman had Neo work to frame John, which lent some credence to his innocence – even before the fact he'd saved Emerald's life came into it. Not that it mattered, but Roman and Neo were powerful. Dangerous. She could not begrudge him failing there.

Damn it. If only she'd killed Roman sooner.

But no, Neo was too useful. Too loyal. To him, not her. Roman had been little more than a means to Neo come the end. He'd known it, though. He knew his usefulness was at an end.

Cinder's eyes flared as she looked for something else to vent her anger on. The sofas might have suited, but then she would have nothing to sit on. She frowned instead and summoned a flame in the palm of her hand, grasping it tightly, watching as the fire flickered out from between each finger. It helped to centre her, if only a little.

With Emerald gone, so many of her plans fell to pieces. With Neo gone, the remainder died.

All she had left was John, Adam and the White Fang – and the latter two were becoming increasingly difficult to control. If they learned what Roman did to her, they might reconsider their options. That could not be allowed. She'd spent too much to gather the dust for them, invested too much time and effort.

Her enemies were moving against her. Whomever they were, they knew of her now. Roman had all but assured that. Their guards would be up, their attention focused. They would bring in more men, more security, more counter-measures.

Ozpin might do the same, and that was truly unacceptable.

There was a traitor in her midst. Perhaps it had always been Roman. Such would make sense, but she'd lost too much to bank on that. But there was one person she could trust. One person she knew beyond all doubt would be loyal.

With a sweep of her skirt, Cinder stood. Not all was lost yet.

/-/

It was Ruby's tone which brought a lump into his throat. Jaune tried for a confident smile that didn't quite reach his face, let alone his eyes, and came out more as a grimace. He pushed himself up so he was sitting in the bed.

"I guess we do…"

"Yeah." Ruby looked around nervously, but they were alone. She shuffled over to his bedside. "How are you? Does it hurt?"

"I'm fine, and no. It did at first, but my aura kicked in."

"Your aura should have stopped it in the first place."

"I guess she caught me off-guard."

"Or you let her," Ruby said, smiling weakly.

He grimaced. "Or that…"

"Which is it?"

"You know I can't tell you, Ruby."

"Yeah, I do." Ruby's smile fell. "That's… kind of what I'm here to talk about."

"Oh…" He cringed, already feeling he knew what this was about. "Oh…"

"You can't tell me things because of what you are. What you work for. I… Yang told me a little about it, but even she won't tell me anything. Because she says to know is to be dragged into it, to never be able to step back." Ruby glanced back to the door. "Your team has already been dragged in. Haven't they?"

"What makes you say that?"

"Jaune, please don't do the half-truths thing," she pleaded. "That refusing to say yes or no, thing. It hurts."

"I'm sorry. Yes, yes, they're involved. And it's not that I don't trust you, Ruby. It's just…"

"It's too important to trust to anyone not involved?"

He nodded. "Yeah…"

"I get that," Ruby said, shaking her head. "I get it. But I also can't get over the secrets. The lying. The hiding. I know you're doing it to keep me safe, and everyone else, but sometimes it feels like I only know one side of you. And that I can't know the other without giving something up to learn it." She paused, looking for the right words. He didn't think there were any. "I wanted to be a huntress, you know? Just like mom. That's what I've always wanted. It's my dream."

"I know."

"But I can't be a huntress if I get involved in this, can I? Maybe I can pretend to be done, but there'll always be something more important. More immediate. Being a huntress would just be my cover. It wouldn't be real. I wouldn't be real. And… And…" Her eyes clenched shut. "I don't want to give that up. Being a huntress is _everything_ to me."

Jaune's eyes fell. "Yeah…"

"D-D-Do you know what I'm saying?" Ruby stammered.

"I think so." He hesitated, noticing from the corner of one eye the agonised look on her face. He put her out of her misery. "You're saying we can't work out. That we won't work out."

Ruby drew a deep, shuddering breath. She cupped one of his hands in hers, but the gesture was desperate, melancholy. Her eyes never quite met his.

"Y-Yeah…"

Fuck. He'd known it. Known it ages ago, and then again when she got kidnapped, and now this time, the moment she'd stepped into the room and failed to smile. He'd known, but a silly, childish part of him tried to pretend it wasn't so. Clung to hope. To naivety.

Ruby was someone born in the light. Everything she did was loud, obvious and beautiful. She protected people on the front lines, fighting against the Grimm to save every little frontier village, no matter the cost to herself or how small they were.

He worked from the shadows or would work from it. He had to look at the bigger picture, had to consolidate, look after Vale, leave the Grimm to huntsmen and focus instead on enemies of a more criminal nature.

Ruby fought monsters.

He fought people.

She was innocent.

He was not.

Sometimes, opposites didn't attract. If they tried to force it, one of them would have to change. Or they'd be trapped in a lie, himself never able to give Ruby his all, her never able to penetrate the darkness around him, always wondering just how much he was keeping from her.

And she'd be right to do so, for he _would_ have to keep secrets. He'd have to lie, disappear at times, and come back with a smile on his face that never quite matched what lay inside. They'd be living a lie, and worse, they'd both know it.

This was for the best.

But it still hurt.

"I understand." Jaune drew a breath and panicked when it shook. No, no, don't cry. Not now. Not when she was so obviously in no better a state. Damn it. Things would have been so much easier if Ruby was a cruel bitch, someone he could hate. But this clearly hurt her as much as it did him.

She clutched his hand tighter.

His fingers wrapped around hers.

Her skin was warm.

He felt cold.

"So, this is it?" he said.

"I…" Ruby swallowed. Her eyes closed. "Yeah. I guess it is. You probably think I'm so selfish…"

"No. You… You have your dreams. I have mine. We've all got to make the decisions that make us happy. We can't… can't just force it."

"I do love you," she said, suddenly. "If you left it all behind…" Her eyes shut. She bit her lip. "Now I'm being selfish," she whispered, "Asking you to change for me. It would be no different if you asked me to give everything up for you."

Jaune laughed bitterly. "Yeah, it would."

Ruby leaned forward suddenly. Their hands remained linked, but her other came up to his cheek. Her lips paused an inch or two from his, asking permission. He held her gaze, smiled sadly, and tilted his head to the side.

It was a better kiss than their first. Softer, slower, more experienced. This time, their noses didn't bump into one another, nor did they hit their teeth together. Ruby's lips moulded into his and his into hers. Jaune's eyes closed without really meaning them to, the experience too much for him to keep them open.

It was everything he'd dreamed it would be and more.

If only the `more` hadn't been a bitter goodbye.

When they parted, it was because their lungs demanded it, and more than see the look on Ruby's face, he felt one of her tears land below his eye, to run down his cheek as if it were his own. There was a burning pain in his chest.

He smiled through it and asked, "Can we still be friends?"

With a broken sob, Ruby threw her arms around his neck. Her face pressed into his shoulder, and he tried to ignore how she wet the thin hospital gown, wiping her eyes into it. "Of course," she cried. "Don't be an idiot. You're still my best friend. That'll never change!"

Even if they both wished it could.

/-/

"You sure you'll be okay?"

Jaune flashed Pyrrha a smile, and even if there was some sadness in it still, he appreciated her naked concern. His entire team's, in fact. "It's a little late to ask me that now."

"Well, you can always sit back and watch if you want," she teased.

Jaune looked to their opponents, Team BRNZ, stood opposite them in the arena. They looked quietly confident, and yet unnerved by Pyrrha's presence. Understandable, he supposed. The fight had yet to start, though the crowd were cheering, and Port was going through the commentary for each team.

In the crowd, Jaune caught sight of Ruby, hands on the railing before her as she cheered and waved towards him. There was no seeing her face from such a distance, but he knew she was trying her best to let things go back to normal between them. He waved back. Things wouldn't be quite the same. Inevitably, they couldn't, but he was no more willing than she to let this ruin what they had.

"I'll be okay," he said, turning back to Pyrrha. "But thanks. For caring."

"Of course. We all do."

There was no doubting it. Jaune drew Crocea Mors and took a deep breath. Ironically, this was probably his first fair fight in a long time. It would be a good chance to see how much he'd improved.

With a loud countdown, the crowd began to chant their way down to the start. Pyrrha crouched, muscles tense. Their opponents did the same, their strategy obvious. Retreat to the trees and probably try to separate them, pull them apart. Hope one could hold Pyrrha to a standstill, or at least buy time, while the others dealt with the rest of the team.

"Begin!" Port shouted.

They were moving. Pyrrha forward, Blake and Ren further to the flanks – him in between. Pyrrha reached the first opponent, the one sent to hold her off, but leapt above him at the last second, twisting in the air and placing both feet on his back. She kicked off him, pushing him toward Jaune while hurtling off in the direction of the sniper, who swore loudly and leapt from her branch.

Jaune was on the distraction before he could run back to support his teammate. He slammed Crocea Mors forward, forcing his opponent to block. From there, he was trapped in melee, unable to disengage and stop Pyrrha from doing what she did best.

Wreck everyone.

His job wasn't even to beat the guy, just to hold him down, but he decided to get a little flashy anyway. No job, no mission and the fight didn't hold any consequences. Stepping into the man's guard, Jaune reversed and brought his blade up, knocking his opponent back a pace as he blocked it. He followed-through, aiming high but feinting at the last second to kick out for the side of the shin. His enemy yelped and stumbled a fraction. Enough for him to push forward and drive the tip of Crocea Mors down across his shoulder, scoring a thin cut through his outfit and a spark of aura.

"Tch, better than you're supposed to be," the guy grunted. "I heard you were a wimp."

"Intelligence on me might be a little outdated," Jaune said, purposefully calling it such, if only for his own amusement.

Really, the guy had the right idea. He'd gone and asked other students about him to find out what he could. It was just a shame no one knew what he could really do. No one had seen him really try since those first heady fights, where he'd been at best okay, and to the uncharitable, a complete weakling.

"A lot has changed since I started out."

"Is talk all you do!?"

"Sorry," Jaune laughed. "Just been a while since I got a casual fight. I'll shut up now."

"Oh, shi-" His opponent didn't get a chance to regret his request, gasping as Jaune brought Crocea Mors around and lunged, going high on purpose, allowing the guy to block him. As he did, however, he slapped out with his other hand, catching him on the cheek – nothing more than a distraction – before he twisted and brought Crocea Mors back, hooking his cross guard over the top of the opponent's weapon.

With a sharp tug, he was able to drag it down _while_ keeping Crocea Mors on top, pointed toward centre-mass. The second it was low enough, Jaune pushed forward, catching his enemy in the middle of his chest.

It was working. He was better. The opponent fell back and rubbed a hand over his chest. No blood, but a nasty bruise and a huge chunk of aura removed. The man glanced back to his team and grimaced at the sight of Pyrrha slapping the sniper around like a pinball. Blake and her opponent were somewhere in the trees, hidden. A good sign for Blake if nothing else. Ren was holding his own.

"Not bad," the man grimaced. "But if you think we'll go down that easy, you've—Huh?" He looked down to the ground under his hand, which had started to bulge upwards. "Is this your doi-"

It wasn't.

And Jaune didn't have the time to even shout a warning. The tiled arena bulged up and erupted outward. Fire and wind struck them both, hurling Jaune back. He landed hard, vaguely aware of the ringing in his ears, and the sudden silence from the crowd. He brought a hand up to his forehead but froze when he saw his hands covered in blood.

Looking back, his opponent hadn't been quite so fortunate.

Someone screamed.

A mistake.

A foolish one.

They'd spent so much time thinking about how Cinder might run or turn on him. So much time thinking about whether they should stop her or not. That they'd forgotten one other option. A terrible option.

That she might become desperate.

Desperate enough to strike now, before her enemies, and her traitors, could cause her any more problems. No matter what it cost.

The ground in front of Jaune bulged outward. Gasping, he had the time to bring both hands up in front of his face before the bomb hit. There was a brief snap of pain, and then heat, and finally a rush of wind that hurled him through the air.

Mercifully, he was not awake to feel his head impact the hard tiles.

* * *

 **Here we go again.**

 **The Vytal Festival is just another of those things I get tired of writing over and over. Luckily, all the fics on my upcoming list on my profile pretty much either go AU, or don't involve the festival. The relief is real.**

 **Anyway, this is the first time I've written a relationship really breaking apart. And for more than an argument or a fight like in Forged Destiny. Ruby and Jaune just live in different worlds here, and while they could try to accept one another and make it work, there would always be secrets between them. Always doubt, and the fact that trust can't always be given.**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 19** **th** **August**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	54. Chapter 54

**Here we go. Obviously, we're approaching the end now. Can't say which fic will replace this because Cpt Dragon might end before this one. I guess you'll just see when they come out. Anyway, on with this.**

* * *

 **Cover Art:** Kegi Springfield

 **Chapter 54**

* * *

There was a sickening moment of silence after the first explosion went off. Everyone waited, for an explanation, for it to be a freak occurrence, for the two men who had been blown apart by the blast to stand and reveal it a sick joke.

The second and third explosions, caving in the arena itself and sending it down into the depths of Amity, proved that presumption false.

The screams began immediately after.

Ruby was already vaulting over the railing, a terrified gasp escaping her as she fell the fifteen or so feet to the ground, landing with a roll, stumbling, and then sprinting toward the shattered arena. The floor had fallen in on itself at the centre, disgorging combatants down below and even toppling some of the trees that made up the artificial forest.

Behind her, she heard Yang shout out a warning and Weiss her name. Ruby ignored them and reached the arena's boundary just as the sirens began, an automated voice rising above the clamour of voices to instruct all civilians to make their way calmly to the evacuation points. There was nothing calm about the way people pushed and shoved, knocking one another down in their fright.

Ruby reached the edge of the jagged pit and peeked over the edge. "Jaune! Blake! Pyrrha, Ren, anyone!"

"Ugh… Oh…"

The moan was full of agony. Ruby bit her lip and stepped back. The descent would be treacherous but there were some half-fallen trees. Ruby hopped down onto one and then bounced off to another, landing on a trunk that stuck out sideways. Still moving, she leapt onto a third.

The second her feet touched it, the tree gave way with a mighty crack. Her momentum didn't stop, the roots losing their fight with gravity even as Ruby lost hers and tumbled down in a wild free-fall.

"Aieee—Argh!"

She slammed down hard, chest hitting first and hands slapping down a second later. Face-down, Ruby took a second to gather herself, waiting for a flare of pain that would tell her something was broken, or worse. When it didn't come – bar for the agony of the impact – she pushed herself up.

It was dark down in the depths of Amity. Whatever lighting there had been had obviously been destroyed when the arena collapsed the ceiling. Now, the only light came from the chasm above. It covered the area in a pale and gloomy light, casting dark shadows from pieces of masonry or trees that jutted out above.

There was a shapeless form nearby. Ruby stumbled over it, pushing the figure over to reveal the female sniper from Team BRNZ. Her face was slack and there was blood lazily oozing from a cut above her left eye. A quick look confirmed she was still breathing, but she looked to have hit her head. She probably wouldn't be waking up anytime soon.

"Ugh…"

Ruby's head snapped up. She staggered on, fighting dizziness as she passed the body of what was very clearly a dead man. The one who'd been fighting Jaune. His skin was charred and blackened, but it was the fall that killed him. There was a jagged piece of masonry jutting out of his stomach.

"Hello?" Ruby called. "Where are you?"

"R-Ruby…?"

"Blake!"

"Over here."

The voice came from behind some trees and Ruby dashed over, placing one foot on a trunk to leap it before Blake cried out in sudden pain.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry!"

"M-My legs," Blake groaned. Ruby circled around and could just make out Blake's stomach and upper body on the floor. Her face was pinched and her breathing shallow. Her legs were caught under one of the trees. "My legs are trapped. Help me get this off."

"A-Are you sure that's safe?"

"No. Can't be any less safe than staying here, though."

That was true. Ruby pushed her weight against the log and heaved with all her might. At first it didn't move and she despaired, eyes prickling with tears, but after a few more seconds it shifted a little, and then a little bit more. With a grunt, Ruby threw her weight against it and managed to roll the thing away.

"Ugh!" Blake groaned, arm over her face.

"Are you okay?"

"Been better." Blake looked down at her legs. They were still in one piece, which was miracle enough, but one was badly swollen and so obviously broken it wasn't even funny. "I don't think I'm going to be fighting."

"Fighting? Fighting what?" Ruby's eyes narrowed. "This is one of Jaune's things, isn't it? This is something he's involved in."

Blake looked like she might lie for a moment but reconsidered at the last second. "It is. Cinder… She wasn't supposed to attack, or if she was, Jaune didn't know about it."

"What is she after? Amity?"

"No. Beacon." Blake slumped with a groan. "You have to find the others. Jaune will know what to do. Or at least find Pyrrha or Ren."

"What about you?"

"I'll be fine. I'm not going anywhere."

"But Amity…"

"Is a distraction. Cinder wants the chaos of everyone having to be evacuated. She has no interest in bringing it down, if she even could. Just… Find Jaune. Get him out. Get him to Beacon. Find Ozpin. Find the Maiden. Stop – _kill_ \- Cinder."

"R-Right." Ruby stood again. Blake would be okay. A broken leg was bad, but survivable. She wasn't bleeding anywhere. "Here, take my scroll," she said, tossing it to Blake. "You can call for help with it. I'll find the other members of your team."

"Thanks. Go."

Ruby nodded and kept moving. She found another member of Team BRNZ, or he found her, stumbling out of some wreckage and slumping to sit against it, one hand holding his head. He waved her off when she came near, his words that he'd be okay a little slurred. Probably a concussion. Nothing she could do anything about.

The other members of Team ABRN weren't too far away. Pyrrha was on her knees, checking something, while Ren was trying to push some wreckage aside. They looked up when they heard her shout their names.

"Ruby? What are- Never mind." Ren nodded to the fallen debris. "Help me shift this."

"Jaune?"

"Under. Come on."

With a nod, Ruby settled in next to Ren and threw her weight against the large chunk of stone ceiling, pushing it aside with a rumbling crack. Under it, Jaune groaned but remained unconscious.

"Is he-?"

"Alive," Pyrrha said, somewhat unnecessarily given the noises he was making. "Unconscious."

Ruby bit her lip. "Blake said-"

"Blake? Where is she?"

"Over there." Ruby pointed. "Her leg is broken. She said to leave her, to find you and get Jaune topside. Stop Cinder."

Ren and Pyrrha exchanged meaningful looks.

"I'll stay and take care of her," Ren eventually said. "You're the better fighter and I know at least a little first aid. Once she's safe, I'll catch up."

Pyrrha nodded. "Alright. Ruby, can you help me get Jaune up? We need to find a way out of here. And hope he wakes up soon."

No answers, then. Ruby would have protested normally, but this situation was anything but normal. Amity was under attack, along with Beacon, and Jaune's team had the answers. The best thing she could do for now, even if it frustrated her, was follow their orders to the letter. Kneeling, she hooked one of his arms over her shoulder, Pyrrha taking the other.

"Where to?"

"Ironwood if we can find him. He's our best bet."

"He should be where the civilians are being evacuated," Ruby said. "What about Cinder? Shouldn't we tell someone? She could be in Beacon right now!"

"Don't worry. We're not the only ones she needs to watch out for."

/-/

"Never thought I'd have to put you on again."

The shiny-black mask blank of features stared back at her, her face reflected in its glossy surface. It was a face she hardly recognised, but only because she'd been ashamed to see herself in the mirror for so long.

Yang grimaced.

She slipped the mask on over her head, feeling it hiss and lock into place. It was claustrophobic, though only for a moment. Darkness washed away as the visor before her became transparent, allowing her to see her black-gloved hands. The armour and coat were already donned.

Slipping away from her team in the chaos had been easy. Too easy. Weiss went to find Ruby, Nora to look for Ren and Penny to the evacuation points to help the civilians. Yang wanted to follow Weiss, but Ruby would be okay. No one would be if Cinder took what she wanted.

 _I was supposed to be retired._

A sigh, a snap and a door hissing open before her, revealing a hidden bunker just outside Beacon, nestled between some rocks in the Emerald Forest. As she closed it and stepped away, a boulder rolled back into place, obscuring it from view.

 _One last mission._

Just the one…

An engine roared behind and above. Yang turned and looked back, spying the unmistakeable shape of Bullheads in the sky, coming closer to Beacon. They weren't Atlas models and she doubted any reinforcements for Beacon would come with shipping containers hanging from metallic cords underneath.

Well, they were headed in the right direction at any rate. As one passed above her, container skimming the canopy, Yang held up a hand and pointed.

There was a pneumatic _hiss_ as the grapple shot out, piercing into the bottom of the bright-red container. Yang was hauled off her feet by the momentum of the Bullhead snapping the line taut. As it dragged her along, her legs hitting the ground painfully, she reached up and slapped a hand down on the mechanism, winding the line in to draw herself up.

A tree threatened to take her out half-way. She kicked off it, twisting the line around so it wouldn't get tangled and drag the Bullhead out the sky, or worse, get her torn in two. A few seconds later, she cleared the treeline, hanging under the container with her feet occasionally brushing against the treetops. In the distance, Beacon approached.

"Now, what have we here?" she wondered, detaching and dragging the hook from the container. There was a small hole in it and she leaned forward to place an eye against it.

Only to yank her face back when a claw stabbed out of it. Something in the container moved, scraping and scrabbling as it tried desperately to widen the hole and get out. Snorting and growling came from within, as well as loud clanging sounds that shook the container.

Grimm. Someone was shipping Grimm into Beacon.

 _But why? What's the point of sending Grimm into a school training people to kill Grimm?_

Some kind of distraction. No one could expect this to actually _do_ anything. Even the weakest student could handle a couple of Beowolves, and the teachers could slaughter hundreds.

Yang shimmied her way to the edge of the container by digging her wrist-blades into the container and swinging herself across. Once she reached the edge she was able to grab onto the bars on the doorway and haul herself higher, up onto the top of it, where she paused to catch her breath.

Four metallic cords, each with a release latch. They probably planned to just drop it from a height and let the impact handle opening it. Of the Bullhead itself, not much could be seen, but there _were_ weapons on them. These weren't civilian craft.

Testing the corner cord with a hand and foot, Yang nodded and scaled up it, hugging the taut and twisted cord between her knees, pinching to hold herself in place and using her hands to drag herself higher. The grapple would have been quicker and easier, but it would announce her presence. Not to mention if someone _found_ it, they could detach it and send her plummeting down.

When she reached the Bullhead itself, Yang grabbed onto a railing on the side and hung there for a second. It seemed impossible that none of the other Bullheads had seen her. They must have been focused on the school.

"Well, let's give them something else to think about."

Yang drew a handgun and pressed it against the cord below her. Gripping tightly to the railing, she pulled the trigger.

The shot tore away half of the cord, the sudden weakness and weight doing enough to make the rest of it snap. Suddenly, the Bullhead was supporting the weight of the container with only _three_ lines, which unbalanced it greatly. The container swung below and the Bullhead lurched to one side, those within crying out in shock.

Another shot took out the second, which was connected nearby. The container swung even worse, now placing all its weight on the other side of the aircraft, causing it to list perilously.

"Cut the line!" someone screamed inside. "Cut it!"

A metallic clink below was the only warning Yang got as the mechanism released, dropping the container down into the forest with an almighty crash. The Bullhead lurched one final time as it regained control.

Yang rode that moment, rising with her side of the aircraft and swinging out with both feet. As it steadied and regained control, her boots came back around, straight for the side-door window – and the startled, masked, face inside.

The window caved in. The mask did, too, along with whomever it was that Yang rode into the Bullhead, slamming to the ground and crushing under her. The others within, at least ten, gaped at her.

White Fang.

Well, that answered that.

Yang opened fire.

Even as she did, her other hand reached into her jacket and drew out another gun, firing wildly as she turned a full three-sixty. Dual-wielding handguns wasn't like it was in the movies, but then again, she didn't _need_ to aim. She was in the middle of them all and the unfortunate souls were strapped into their seats, barely able to move. Blood splattered and terrorists cried out as they were slaughtered, few even managing to pull off their safety belts before they died.

It was over in a flash. There was a panicked curse from the front, followed by someone leaning over to aim a gun back from the cockpit. Yang grabbed the man's wrist and hauled him out, ignoring the bullets that pinged around the interior of the aircraft. Dropping her own, empty, guns, she twisted his out of his hand and pushed it under his chin.

"No, wai-"

Blood flew upwards, coating her mask.

She tossed the man aside.

The pilot screamed as she hopped into the co-pilots seat, but she silenced him with a single shot, straight through the head and out the other side, shattering the window.

Yang grabbed the stick before he could inevitably drag them down as he died. With one hand steadying the aircraft, she unlocked his belt and kicked his body with all her strength, slamming it into the side-door so hard it opened of its own accord. The body tumbled out and Yang slid into its place, taking control with ease.

Oobleck always did say you could never learn enough skills. Considering how prevalent Bullheads were, everyone under him learned how to pilot one. This model was outdated but it would do. Yang flicked the targeting array over to her side and cut the throttle, letting the other White Fang fly a little ahead.

One crossed in front of her cross-hairs. Yang settled them on the back of the aircraft and flicked off the safety system.

The guns began to spool.

/-/

Cinder scoffed as one of the Bullheads approaching the school went up in a gout of fire. It dropped out of the sky and forward, dipping enough until its cargo caught a tree, at which point the whole thing was dragged down, exploding in the forest. The White Fang weren't oblivious and quickly scattered, many detaching their cargo early so they could manoeuvre easier.

Even this had been leaked, then? She should have known.

 _There's only one person I can trust. Me._

Adam would do what he had to. Or what he wanted. John could join in if he realised, otherwise he could stay out. Roman and Neo were cut loose, Emerald gone. Mercury dead. But that was fine. If you wanted a job done properly, you had to do it yourself.

Her feet brought her towards Beacon, still and empty but for a few students who raced by her without question, rushing to see what the sound was. Many were armed but in the face of the Grimm and the White Fang, a woman in a red dress went unheeded.

All that remained between her and the Fall Maiden was Ozpin. She was so close she could _taste_ the power.

It was inevitable someone would stand in her way, but it was not Ozpin who stepped out from the shadows to stand between her and the entrance to Beacon. The figure was no less familiar, dressed in white and grey armour that covered the entire body, with a face-mask that glimmered with pale blue light.

"You," Cinder hissed. "The one who tried to take the Paladin."

The figure didn't speak, but nodded once, confirming it. She wasn't dressed in the full black of the ones they'd destroyed. Another organisation, perhaps? One from Atlas. _It doesn't matter. It's only one person._

"I'm not here for you. Get out my way and I'll spare your life."

The figure reached down to a compartment that opened on her thigh. She brought out a thin, silvery blade, and also a single handgun-like weapon.

The last time they'd fought, she'd driven the girl back, but even then it was close. Still, that was back where she'd needed to maintain at least a little cover. She hadn't wanted to tip Ozpin off. Now? Now, it didn't matter.

Cinder's eyes flickered with golden fire. The very air around her shimmered and burned.

"Fine. You wish to stand in my way? I'll carve a path over your scattered ashes!"

/-/

"Ozpin! The White Fang-"

"I know, Glynda." Ozpin stood in his office, looking out over Beacon. His hand gripped the head of his cane until his knuckles turned white. " _She_ is here. It seems the time for subterfuge is over. She has come for Amber."

"Ozpin, we need to begin the transfer process."

"With whom? We've not yet decided a candidate."

"Anyone!" Glynda shouted. "The first person we see. The first one to agree."

"We can't put the power of the fall maiden into just anyone. That would lead to another Amber, or worse, a repeat of the Spring Maiden. I'd hoped to consider further. Miss Nikos, perhaps, or even Miss Rose. The latter would be loyal, and she would not run away from danger." His eyes hardened. "Perhaps if we could reach her-"

Glynda slammed both hands down on Ozpin's desk. "Are you even listening to yourself!? We don't _have_ the opportunity to think. We don't _have_ time. We _need_ the Fall Maiden active, at least so she can retreat and draw the enemy away. I saw Miss Adel outside. With Velvet-" Glynda cut off with a grimace. "Team CFVY refused to attend the festival. She should still be here."

"Miss Adel is grieving," Ozpin said. "Even were she not, she's independent and headstrong. She wouldn't be an ideal choice."

"Stop looking for what's ideal! We just don't have the time! If you keep delaying, we'll lose the chance forever. Is that better? Is it somehow more ideal that one of Salem's followers has the powers of the Fall Maiden? Because that's what is going to happen if we keep delaying."

Ozpin sighed. "You're right. Contact Miss Adel. Have her come to the central elevator. I shall be waiting for her."

Glynda nodded, relieved. "If I can't reach her, I'll be contacting anyone I can."

Ozpin grimaced, but accepted it with a nod, striding to his elevator. The door shut on him with a silent click. Coco Adel was not his first choice, nor was she his tenth. Glynda was correct, though. There was no ideal solution. They would have to make do with what they had. He could only hope it would be enough.

/-/

Jaune was still unconscious when they found Ironwood. The General was leading the defence of the retreating evacuees, though there wasn't much of a defence to be had. The occasional Grimm that appeared was gunned down without mercy. When the General saw them, he barked some orders to his men and stalked forward with Winter in tow.

"What's the situation?" he barked to them.

Pyrrha answered before Ruby could. "We think Cinder launched her attack early, sir. Our team is alive but cut in two. One stayed behind to look after an injured teammate. Ciel is in Beacon and messaged us to say she'd buy time. We need to get there."

Ruby balked at everything Pyrrha was saying. This was General Ironwood. Surely, he wouldn't just believe them like that.

"Understood. Winter, I want you to take them directly to Beacon. See them equipped."

"Sir!" Winter snapped a salute and stepped towards them. "Follow me. We have an aircraft ready."

J-Just like that…?

There was no chance to ask further. Winter rushed through the soldiers crowding the area and left Pyrrha and Ruby to stagger after her with Jaune between them. He mumbled occasionally but didn't wake up.

The vehicle Winter led them to was sleek and unmarked, not a Bullhead but something that looked a whole lot faster. She tapped in a code on a side door and ushered them inside.

"Put him on the table," Winter said. She ran her hands across it, pushing several objects onto the floor. They laid Jaune down on it with a little assistance from Winter. "I'll patch him up as best I can." Without so much as a pause, Winter tore Jaune's armour off and dumped it on the floor, pulling his hoodie up. There were ugly bruises along his torso. "This is an ASF vehicle," Winter said while she worked. "You can tool up from the lockers. Code is 8397A."

Tool up?

Did Weiss' sister think _she_ was part of Jaune's secret spy people? Ruby opened her mouth to explain better but Pyrrha put a hand over it and dragged her away. The message was clear; she was to play along for now.

 _I… I guess now isn't the time. Have to save Beacon…_

Pyrrha unlocked the cabinets and paused at what she saw inside, strange uniforms in pitch black, along with round helmets that looked like polished black domes.

"We were able to salvage some uniforms." Winter explained without looking. "Sizes might not be perfect, but it should do. It's standard issue, so make use of what you want. It's all yours at the end of the day. Can't say I expected his first recruits to be so… famous. Nor for my sister's teammate to be one of them."

"Y-Yeah," Ruby laughed nervously. In a quieter voice, she added, "Me neither…"

The uniform didn't mean anything. Yang wore it when she worked for them and it wasn't like she'd stopped being Ruby's sister. With a nervous breath, she reached out and took the helmet, holding it before her face.

Pyrrha started to get changed, even as the room shook and the vehicle took off, the pilots working on some kind of unseen message. If Pyrrha didn't care about getting changed, Ruby figured she shouldn't either.

It was still armoured, and from what Yang told her, they had a range of tricks that would make life easier for her. Comfort had to play second place to saving people right now. As long as she could still use Crescent Rose, the uniform could only help her.

"The moment we hit Beacon, you'll be dispatched to deal with the threat," Winter said. "I can't accompany you, but I shall make my own way and deal with the White Fang presence, keeping them off your back."

"What about Jaune?" Pyrrha asked.

"If Arc is still not awake, he will have to stay here. We cannot wait for him."

Ruby nodded, even if she couldn't help but feel a little nervous. In a way, the mask helped. It covered her face. Let her hide. No one could see the doubt, only their own face reflected in the burnished surface.

Pyrrha slapped a hand against her arm. "You okay in there?" The other girl's voice was tinny and muffled, like it was being transmitted instead of heard. Ruby didn't know how to respond, so simply bobbed her head up and down, taking comfort in the fact that at least Crescent Rose was familiar.

"We're about to land," Winter suddenly said, pressing a finger to a device in her ear. "We have Grimm, White Fang and fighting on the ground. Don't focus on any of them. Your objective is Cinder Fall."

"Where will we find her?" Pyrrha asked.

"Main building. The situation is dire, and Ironwood trusts you'll do what must be done. The maiden is being kept underground. The central elevator will lead you there – although you may need to make your own descent as the mechanism to reach the hidden floor will be concealed and likely passcode protected."

"The basement," Pyrrha mused. "No wonder we couldn't find it. We didn't even _know_ Beacon had a basement."

There was a loud clunking noise as the aircraft settled down, followed by a brief blare of noise in warning. The door they'd entered through hissed and began to open. Pyrrha picked up her weapons, ruining the secrecy of the mask somewhat. Not that anyone would notice in the crazed melee Ruby could hear outside.

Yang was out there somewhere. She'd be in the thick of it, wherever the fighting was most dangerous. Ruby spared one final glance for Jaune, who muttered in his sleep but did not wake. They'd be doing this on their own.

As the ramp came down, Ruby, Winter and Pyrrha stepped into hell.

/-/

 _"Tell me again. Why is it you wanted to become a huntsman?"_

A voice in the void. Familiar. Comforting.

" _You snuck into Beacon for the sole purpose of wish fulfilment. Is that correct?"_

Shame. Selfishness. Disgust.

 _"Those are not the worst of reasons to aspire to such a goal. People are inherently selfish. This is a fact of life, so you shouldn't feel too bad about it. At least your brand of selfishness comes with self-awareness, along with the promise that others will benefit."_

Hope. And yet, more shame. It was a false hope.

But there was an opportunity to embrace that false hope.

" _We protect the city from the threats few see. As cliché as it may sound, we operate in the shadows, tackling enemies who do much the same._ _Our job is not unlike a huntsman, except that the prey we hunt are far more dangerous."_

More dangerous…?

 _"More dangerous than Grimm?"_

What could be more dangerous? The Grimm were evil. The Grimm destroyed everything.

 _"Indeed, Jaune. After all, the huntsman might hunt the Grimm, but who hunts the huntsman?"_

Who indeed?

Roman.

Cinder.

He couldn't stop any of them.

" _Why would you want_ _me_ _of all people? I'm weak. I'm useless."_

So weak…

So tired…

 _"Weak, yes. Useless, no. We are not an organisation which values brute strength."_

But what could he do…?

" _We do whatever we have to, Mr Arc. Whatever we can. We protect Vale. We maintain the people's happiness, even if it is a facade."_

But why…?

What was the point…?

" _We do it because we love them."_

That… That didn't make sense. People were selfish, he'd already said so, and yet they would be willing to risk their lives for others? Die for others?

Die like Vanguard had?

Like Magician had?

Like Oobleck had?

He wasn't as strong as them. As Oobleck.

" _You were different from me, Jaune. You_ _are_ _different. Not quite as clouded, not as deep into what we are."_

…

" _I'm proud of you, Rat."_

Why?

Why be proud?

Why be proud when Cinder yet lived? When Beacon and Vale were still in danger. The festival, the conspiracy, the maiden, the Relic, the White Fang.

Cinder.

"I'll stop her, Oobleck. I'll stop her."

" _Welcome to the Vale Secret Service, Mr Arc. Now. It's time to wake up."_

Blue eyes snapped open.

Grey ceiling, metallic walls, a table under him. Pain. It washed over him in waves, originating from his bare chest, where thick, ugly bruises dotted his skin. He poked one and winced. It looked bad. Might even be a rib or two broken.

The sound of gunfire outside brought him back to reality.

The invasion. The White Fang. Cinder.

There was a coat on the table beside him. Not his, but rather a familiar one in all black, with black trousers and an under suit of armour. He laughed at seeing it. Oobleck might just have been a dream, but it felt like even now the man was watching over him.

"Well, I'd better earn that pride, old man."

He'd called it wish-fulfilment once, and perhaps it still was. It was fine either way. The motives might not have changed, but the wish had. He didn't desire the life of fame and fortune anymore. His wish was simpler; a safe Vale, the people he cared about happy, and perhaps a chance to leave something behind. A legacy that would continue to keep the peace. A legacy he could be proud of.

And maybe in doing so, Oobleck would have his own legacy. His final student, carrying his ideals to a new VSS.

Sweeping his legs off the table, Jaune stood. He pulled the uniform on, wincing at the pain of doing so. The mask they'd left behind was too small and cracked down the centre. He tossed it aside. Maybe it was time the VSS had a face for a change. Those were considerations for later. With Pyrrha, Blake and Ren.

Lifting Crocea Mors, Jaune smiled and laid it aside, reaching instead for the familiar dagger he'd hidden in a pocket sewn into the insides of his trousers. Flipping it once, he caught it by the blade and tested the weight.

It was his gift from Oobleck, and it fit him like a glove.

He wondered if it would fit Cinder, too.

Only one way to find out.

* * *

 **Complications et al. So, one thing I hoped to clear up last chapter was Cinder's comment on "one person left to trust". She meant herself. Kind of said that here in this chapter because a few people were confused and trying to count allies, etc…**

 **Oh, and Ruby has been drafted. Don't worry, I'm sure you look adorable in the VSS gear.**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 26** **th** **August**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	55. Chapter 55

**Here we are. Approaching the end and all that good stuff. My apologies if this chapter is slightly shorter than usual, but there's a lot to cover from this point going on and most of it is action-related and important plot points, so I don't want to throw it all in one chapter, end up rushing it, and then make some mistakes.**

 **Though I don't normally like to give ideas on when a story will be done, and won't specifically here, I** _ **expect**_ **(but it might not be exact) that this story will be done before the end of September. The next story to replace this will be "Unseen Hunt", which I'm particularly excited for because it's going to be a new direction for me and I really like what I've got done on it so far. Some details about that on my profile.**

* * *

 **Cover Art:** Kegi Springfield

 **Chapter 55**

* * *

There was no sense of time for how long he'd been unconscious.

The invasion was still on, so that was a thing. He'd not missed the whole thing. But it could have been hours, depending on how long it took Vale to respond to the attack. There was a message from Cinder on his scroll telling to `get involved if he could` but providing no real detail. It was dated today and more than an hour old.

Parts of Beacon were on fire. The flames hadn't spread yet, but they were there, licking away at the top floors and flicking embers into the sky. Bodies were strewn across the pathways. Most of them were White Fang, deserved casualties, but every now and then, surrounded by the bodies of terrorists, would lay a young man or woman who didn't deserve this.

Of the Grimm, there was blessedly little to see. He must have been out long enough for them to burn their numbers away, hurling themselves at anyone and everyone with reckless abandon and being cut down in droves. There was still fighting going on, off by the cafeteria and more toward the Bullhead docks.

An explosion sounded from within Beacon's main building, as well. It was that he made his way towards at a run. Cinder had to be inside there, likely looking for the maiden.

Beacon's main foyer was a wreck, the statue over the fountain shattered and water pooling out onto the flagstones. A couple of bodies told him several students had made their last stand there. From the look of things, they'd moved on, possibly to the docks. Reinforcements must have been on their way and they'd try to re-take Beacon once they had some support.

A slumped figure by the main entrance caught his eye. They were dressed in white. Full-white armour, almost futuristic.

"Ciel…" He reached her a second later, kneeling and pulling her up so that she could rest against him. Her armour was cracked on the chest, stained red. "Ciel, can you hear me? Damn it, Ciel. Answer me."

She didn't speak. Leaning her head on his knee, he fumbled with her helmet, breathing a sigh of relief when he found that the catches were similar to his. With a hiss and a click, the helmet opened at its sides and he was able to pull it off.

Ciel's eyes were half-closed. Her face was still and pale, a trickle of blood running down from the side of her lips.

"No…"

Despite knowing it would be hopeless, his hand slid to her neck, searching for a pulse. Her skin was so cold he knew it wouldn't be there, but he stayed still regardless, praying. Begging.

Nothing.

"Oh fuck. No. Ciel, no. Please."

He wasn't sure who he was begging to. Cinder, the killer? Some God he didn't believe in? Fate? Or maybe Ciel, who lay dead in his arms. She'd died defending the school, a single, clean wound through her stomach, that penetrated out her back. She didn't even bleed on him, all of it spent.

Died defending a school that wasn't hers. A Kingdom that wasn't hers. Dies doing her duty, for all that mattered.

"I'll make her pay, Ciel," he whispered, laying the girl down. "I promise."

Stepping away, tearing his eyes away, Jaune drew out his scroll and dialled a familiar number, stepping into the academy building and scanning the room for any enemies. Or bodies. Someone had to have brought him to Beacon. His team, most likely. They had to be safe.

The call went through with a click.

" _Kid."_

"Roman, it's happening early."

" _I can see that. Things are bad."_

"Not so bad that we don't have an opportunity to finish this," he returned. "She's here. She's trapped in Beacon. Where are you?"

" _Kid…"_

"My friends are _dying_ , Roman. We had a deal. Where are you?"

" _Do you remember back before Mountain Glenn, kid? I told you our partnership would last until one of us betrayed the other. Said you'd know when the time comes. That you'd be able to recognise it."_

Jaune's blood boiled. "You piece of shit!"

" _A man has to look after those he cares for, kid. Neo and I. We're on our way out of Vale."_

Disbelief. Shock. And then anger. What part of him honestly believed Roman would stick with them? What foolish part? Oobleck was wrong about Roman. Or maybe he'd been right, but either way, Roman changed. He wasn't the man Oobleck once trusted.

"There's nowhere you can run that I won't find you, Roman. Remember that. Once this is over – and it _will_ end here – I'm going to find you."

" _Good luck with that, kid."_

When the call ended, Jaune almost threw his scroll away. That bastard. That absolute rat-bastard. If he'd been here, Ciel might… She might…

No. He couldn't think about it.

Roman would pay. In time. Before that, Cinder.

The entranceway of Beacon was in good shape for all that happened outside. There were some upturned tables and chairs, along with leaflets and documents scattered across the floor, but no bodies or signs of fighting. Following the reception area through. His eyes were drawn to the elevator – not because it was open, but because it had been blasted apart. From within, by the look of it. The entire carriage was destroyed, the metal doors twisted and blackened by his feet. It was as if some explosion had gone off inside it. Either way, there would be no going up there now.

 _Or down there,_ he considered, noticing a long drop.

Another explosion sounded further into the school, a floor above this one, perhaps. Ignoring the elevator, Jaune ran to the nearest staircase and ascended it three steps at a time. The entire building shook as another blast rattled the foundations. Outside, Bullheads flew by, firing on something. There was a loud roar, not unlike an Ursa's, but even without seeing it, Jaune knew this thing was much, much bigger.

The sounds of combat were louder now and drew his steps towards the central tower. With the central elevator destroyed, they must have been going for the secondary, but by the sound of it, they'd not yet made it. Reaching the ornate double doors, Jaune placed both hands on them and pushed them open.

He stepped into a battlefield.

Tables and couches were torn to shreds and littered the oval-shaped room, which had two combatants at the centre – one in black and red, the other white and grey. Winter Schnee locked swords with Adam Taurus, the two of them dancing through the room. If a dance could draw such blood or result in grit teeth and hate-filled expressions.

"J-Jaune…"

That voice. "Pyrrha!?"

She was to the side of the entrance, slumped against a wall and gripping a hand to a nasty wound on her stomach. Her face was pinched and grey, breathing laboured and skin slick with sweat. Jaune's knees cracked onto the tiled floor as he fell by her, hands hesitating just out of reach, unsure what to do.

"I-I'm okay," Pyrrha lied. Oh, so obviously lied. "He caught me off-guard. W-We cornered Cinder. She has the maiden. She _is_ the maiden. Adam… He came behind before the fight started. No one saw him." Pyrrha laughed bitterly. "I got taken out before the fight even started. Me, the Invincible Girl. How pathetic."

"Don't talk like that, Pyrrha. Anyone can be caught by surprise like that. Even Cinder." Bringing out what limited medical supplies his suit contained, he started to bandage the wound, aware that it wouldn't really fix it, just slow the bleeding for now. He didn't bother asking why or how she was in a VSS uniform.

Once the bandage was tied and the blood flow lessened, Pyrrha pushed his hands away. "Blake and Ren will be on the way. They can look after me. Ruby and Yang went ahead, after Cinder. You need to help them."

Ruby was here? Why? No, it didn't matter.

"What about Ozpin?"

"Dead. Or so Cinder says. We didn't exactly have the chance to check. She has the power of the maiden, though…"

So, he must be gone. Ozpin, for all his faults, wouldn't sit by and let Cinder take that. He'd have given his all. Seemed it wasn't enough. Damn it. Going on to support Ruby and Yang was definitely the right call, but it would mean leaving Pyrrha here. There were probably medical teams outside who could help her if he got her to them quick enough.

Pyrrha saw his hesitation. "Don't! Jaune, you need to go on. I'll – I'll be okay."

"You're lying to me, Pyrrha." he accused, tears in his eyes. "If you want to be a part of the VSS, I'm your boss, remember?"

"Heh, I guess so." She swallowed awkwardly. "I'm fifty-fifty," she said, more serious. "If Winter can win, and she's more than holding her own, then she can get me out. If Adam wins, I die. You could sway the fight either way, but if it takes you even a few minutes, that'll mean Ruby or Yang die. And if one or both of them does, you'll have _no one_ to help you against Cinder. She'd kill you."

"So," she continued. "Stay and help me, and you, Ruby and Yang die – and Cinder gets away. Or go and save Ruby and Yang, and I only _might_ die." Pyrrha held his gaze. "You know what the right choice is, Jaune."

He did. Of course he did, gods damn it!

"Here, take my scroll. Call Ren or Blake – or anyone who can help." He pushed it into her hands, along with the rest of his medical supplies. "Ironwood's number is on there, too. He needs to know what is happening. What happened to Ozpin. Tell him you're VSS. He'll listen."

Pyrrha nodded, accepting the scroll with a weak smile. "Good luck, Jaune."

He wanted to say the same to her – but to even do so felt like it would be to accept the possibility of her death. Instead, he smiled.

"I'll be back before you know it. Hold the fort for me."

The walk toward the elevator was the hardest of his life. Just fifteen metres or so, and yet he had to ignore both Pyrrha and the fight between Adam and Winter. It would be so easy to interfere, to attack from behind and force Adam into a bad situation. It would take time, though. He was a deadly combatant and wouldn't go down easily. Five minutes, maybe six or seven. It could be more if Adam started to sling his Semblance around.

Five minutes seemed like so little time.

And yet it was probably also all the time Cinder needed to kill Ruby and Yang. Too much could happen in those few minutes. The elevator door opened but the carriage was nowhere to be seen. Tutting once, Jaune swung himself inside the shaft with one hand holding the open door. The carriage was below, wrecked. Cinder must have cut it loose when she saw Ruby and Yang trying to use it.

It was only the fact he could see inside it – and see no bodies – that let him know they'd not been killed by that move. Yang had the same gear he did, so she could probably grab Ruby and hook shot them both to safety, even as the elevator fell. It was that he used now, piercing the shot into the wall far above and rappelling out so that he could walk sideways up the inside of the elevator shaft. That time, short as it was, gave him an opportunity to think. And to panic.

 _I'm nowhere near as strong as someone like Ozpin. How the hell am I supposed to beat her? Even with Yang and Ruby, I doubt we're as powerful as Ozpin was in his prime. Or the original Fall Maiden._

Not for the first time, Jaune cursed this magical bullshit. It changed the rules, and not in a way he liked. Taiyang's information had been as good as he could give, but it wasn't complete. Did each Maiden have different powers? Was it intrinsic or did they need to train with them? Did the relevant season come with any weaknesses, or did it influence the power in any way at all?

Really, as someone working in the intelligence industry, the lack of answers was probably his fault. Oobleck would have done better.

The final few metres, Jaune had to pause and tear the hook from his wrist-launcher, holding himself against a girder as he aimed the final few floors. There was fresh fighting above, the sounds audible through the doors less than ten metres up.

They were still alive.

The hook pierced into the ceiling and he drew himself up, hovering in front of the door. With one arm attached to the rope and one not being enough to pry the door open, he lodged his knife into the gap between them and swung back, using his foot on the return swing to drive and wedge it in. From there, he was able to detach the rope and use the knife to keep him balanced against the door.

With a final grunt, he was able to twist the knife, creating a gap an inch across at most. It was enough to get his fingers into and pry the elevator door open.

"Arghh!"

Ruby flew back and crashed into a wall, dropping her scythe. At least he thought it was Ruby. She wore a full VSS mask, but her height, frame – and more than anything, Crescent Rose – were unmistakeable.

"Ruby!"

Her head turned in his direction as he hurried over. A quick glance told him Yang was keeping Cinder busy, but that Cinder was legitimately floating a pace or two off the floor, fingers crackling with electricity. Yep. Magical bullshit in full effect, it seemed.

"Ruby, are you okay?"

The girl nodded but didn't respond. Probably didn't know how to. He reached around behind her helmet and clicked the release switch. As it hissed and moved off, he caught a sigh of relief from her as she was freed from its confines.

"Pyrrha," she gasped. "Winter below. Is-"

"The fight is still happening. Gave Pyrrha my scroll and told her to call for reinforcements."

Ruby nodded. She reached for her scythe with an obvious wince. "Cinder got Ozpin. Killed Coco, too. Took the powers. We… We can barely put a dent in her. I'm glad you're here."

Jaune wished he could feel as confident as she did. He had _no_ idea what the addition of his knife was going to offer. "What kind of powers does she have?"

"Flight, increased strength – some kind of elemental attacks. She mostly uses fire, but I've seen wind and lightning going off around her. Other than that, everything is normal. Just stronger. Stronger and a little faster."

"But not as fast as you?"

"I'm still faster, for all the good it does."

One good thing at least. "It'll be important, I'm sure. I'll see if I can't buy you an opening."

Jaune waited for her nod before he stood and made his way towards the melee. Yang was in full uniform, but it was badly damaged, her coat abandoned entirely while her helmet sported a nasty crack down the centre front. Not yet exposing her face, but with the risk it might cave in at any moment.

He didn't have the same problem, having no helmet to rely on. Stalking forward, he whistled, catching both Yang's attention and Cinder's. The room was too small for him to sneak up on her anyway, not to mention she apparently had the power of flight now.

"Hey Cinder," he called. "I thought the attack wasn't for a few days yet. Something go wrong?"

Cinder's eyes locked onto his, and they narrowed. With his hair blond, she probably didn't recognise him. At least not immediately. He could see the realisation dawning – not because she expressed any shock, but because she grit her teeth so hard he could imagine them grating together. Flames exploded into life around each of her hands.

Yeah, she'd figured it out alright.

Now to twist the knife a little.

"Maybe I should own up to a little of that. I mean, there were a couple of delays. First Mercury, he died like a chump, you know? Shot in the back of the head. Idiot didn't even see it coming. Then there was Emerald. You told her to keep an eye on me. Shame she didn't keep an eye on herself." Though the taunting on Mercury generated nothing, the mention of Emerald's name drew a snarl from Cinder. "Convincing Roman and Neo to betray you, though? That was the easiest part. They couldn't _wait_ to jump ship. Guess they saw the writing on the wall."

"You treacherous _rat_ …"

"That's my name. Or codename. Guess Oobleck was right all along."

Cinder's entire body burst into arcane fire.

"JOHHHNNNN!"

/-/

"Blake, Ren! Are you okay?"

Ren looked up in time to see Weiss and Nora running toward them. Both looked dishevelled and worn. No doubt they'd been fighting off Grimm attacking the colosseum. Ren was sure they looked no better, he supporting Blake, who limped beside him, one leg raised.

"We've seen better. We'll live, however." The latter he added for Nora's sake, cutting off her panic before it got out of hand. "I need to get to Beacon, however. Pyrrha and Jaune went on ahead with Ruby. Could you take Blake to a medical station for me?"

"Ruby went to Beacon?" Weiss demanded, ignoring the request. "Do you know if Yang followed? Those two split off immediately and I've not been able to reach them. The idiots! Reckless idiots. If they're hurt, I…" She trailed off into muttered threats. There was no doubting her concern for them.

"I don't know about Yang, but Ruby left to Beacon like I said. We… We have reason to believe it's under attack." No mentions of Cinder, obviously. Though he trusted them, this wasn't his secret to tell.

"Under attack from who?"

"The White Fang," Blake said, coming up with an excuse so that he wouldn't have to. "They're the ones who set off the explosives here, but the thing is, Amity is just the distraction. They want to destroy Beacon."

"Those monsters! Nora, come on, we need to get there now."

"No!" Ren surprised himself by nearly shouting. "Nora and I should go. We work together better," he said when Weiss looked ready to argue. "I know you're her partner, but we've been together forever. I'm not saying not to come, only asking that you get Blake to safety first and _then_ follow after."

Weiss looked unconvinced. Blake stepped in. "The White Fang would go insane if they saw you, Weiss. If you and Nora went, you'd be buried under them. They'd kill Nora to get to you. At least if Ren and Nora go, they'll be able to slip in without drawing as much attention."

"I… I see your point. As much as I hate to accept it, you… may be correct." Weiss' eyes hardened. "But I will be coming right after you, danger or not. As soon as I've gotten Blake to somewhere she can be healed."

"That's fine." Ren helped Blake onto Weiss, adjusting his teammate so that she could balance on her one good foot. Amity was safe for the most part, so they'd be okay. The other team that had fallen down with them was already gathering itself – those that were still alive. "I'll find Yang and Ruby for you," Ren promised. "Don't worry."

Weiss nodded, but still looked uncertain.

"The sooner you drop me off, the quicker you can get to Beacon," Blake pointed out.

They were gone a moment later, Blake hopping as Weiss practically carried her back toward the evacuation points, where there would either be medics to look after her, or a means of getting her to a hospital in the city.

"Ren, what's going on?" Nora asked. "There's something you're not telling me."

Hm. He should have trusted Nora to notice. Despite how she might act, she knew him well. After so long together, even his silences could be measured and recognised. That she stayed quiet in front of Weiss, her own partner, was probably a sign of how much she trusted him.

"It's not just the White Fang, Nora. There's someone else there, someone dangerous. Come. I'll tell you about her while we find a Bullhead to get us there."

"How much danger are Yang and Ruby in?" Nora asked. "Truthfully."

"Life-threatening."

"Oh." To Nora's credit, she didn't panic. Her eyes narrowed, and then hardened. She drew one deep breath and let it go. "Well, then we'd better get there fast, right?"

"My thoughts exactly."

/-/

Ironwood let the call end with a curse. Anger and grief swirled around inside him, but he clamped down on it with practiced ease. Ozpin was gone, but that did not mean the war was over. There would be time to honour an old friend after this was all finished. The bigger problem now was that according to the Nikos girl, Winter was in danger.

"You there," he snapped at a nearby soldier. "You're in charge of the evacuation effort now, Lieutenant."

"M-Me, sir?"

"The worst of it is over and everything is organised. Just make sure nothing goes wrong."

"Yes sir!"

Winter was out, so Ironwood touched a hand to the communicator built into his collar and called for another. "Penny. Report."

" _Reporting for duty, sir."_

"Where are you?"

" _Amity Colosseum. Do you have need of me?"_

"I need you to pilot a Bullhead." He could do that himself, of course, but he didn't have the time to safely land it. If things were as dire as they sounded, he wanted to be able to jump out and keeping moving. Preferably without sending a Bullhead crashing through Beacon. "Get to the evac zone immediately. I'll be waiting for you."

" _I shall be there in no more than two minutes."_

Penny proved as good as her word, and by the time she arrived he'd already commandeered an aircraft. He pushed into the co-pilot seat and strapped himself in, Penny hopping in beside him and starting up the engines a second later. Skills like these, skills Dr Polendina had installed in her mainframe, she was supposed to keep hidden, but no one was paying attention anymore.

The Bullhead swooped to the side as it took off, Penny manoeuvring it with the skill of an expert stunt pilot.

"Aim for the main building," he said. "I shall leap out and provide support to Winter."

"What should I do?"

"Land the Bullhead safely but make your way to and find me after that. We may need assistance in taking down Cinder Fall."

"Understood. I shall attempt to locate friend Ciel while I am at it."

Ironwood nodded. "Do that. She could be of use."

Taking the time to reload his handgun while they were flying, Ironwood closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The Nikos girl had confirmed Cinder as the Fall Maiden. This would be problematic. How many times now had he told Ozpin to take better control of the maidens? If not force their co-operation, then at least buy it. Train them, make them stronger, teach them to protect themselves.

But no, he saw his own way of doing things. A Maiden who was free would be harder to track, he said. And maybe he was correct on that point. But when the maiden was found, when she was inevitably tracked down, it led to Amber being taken down by just three people.

Cinder Fall would not be killed so easily. If she were strong enough to take down Amber _while_ she was a normal human, then she would be even stronger now. There was no metric to use, but the maiden's powers did not make someone twice as strong, nor three times. It gave them additional abilities and powers that were inhuman in nature.

In the hands of an amateur, the power could make someone stronger than he. In the hands of someone like Cinder, it would only be worse.

"Penny, we need to prepare for the possibility that she cannot be stopped."

"Sir…?"

"If the worst happens, your instructions are to use all your power in order to kill her. My life, and the lives of others, are to be considered acceptable collateral damage. You may use your own discretion on the means."

Penny's face twisted, showing her displeasure. "Understood, General Ironwood."

"We shall hope that remains a last resort." The Bullhead was flying over Beacon now. Ironwood's eyes widened as he caught sight of a huge, black shape in the sky. "That's going to be a problem."

"Do you want me to remain in the air and combat it?"

"This wouldn't do anything to it. Continue with the original plan." So saying, Ironwood turned and kicked the door beside him open, ignoring the wind that blasted in. Penny did, too, of course. She didn't have the human body to feel it. "Catch up with me when you can, Penny."

"Yes sir. Good luck."

* * *

 **So, as I said, a little shorter. Not by much 500 words or so. Ciel, sorry to say, did not make it. Holding off Cinder on her own for as long as she could without support. She bought the time for Jaune to wake and come to support them, but it cost her dearly.**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 2** **nd** **September**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	56. Chapter 56

**Here we go.**

* * *

 **Cover Art:** Kegi Springfield

 **Chapter 56**

* * *

If his plan were just to attract Cinder's attention, he succeeded almost immediately. There was little doubt in his mind that she considered those under her expendable; her rage was neither grief for Emerald or Mercury. But the insult he'd laid at her feet, the trouble he'd caused, was enough to tear a scream of purest fury from her throat. Cinder hurtled across the distance between them with eyes ablaze and maiden-power crackling around her limbs.

"DIE!"

At the last second, Jaune threw himself to the side – realising that aura or no, there would be no blocking the Cinder-shaped missile head on. In an ideal world, she might have crashed through the wall and fallen to her death, but she had enough of a grasp on her powers to slow her flight, flip in the air, land on the back wall and push off for him once more. Of course, he hadn't stopped moving and dashed across the office, avoiding her by the skin of his teeth every time.

At least it gave Yang a second to recover, the better fighter gasping for breath and favouring her right side as she hurried over to Ruby. He could only hope they could come up with something, because his plan didn't go further than distract Cinder and hope for a miracle.

"Hah!"

A roll to the left.

"Whoah!"

Dive over Ozpin's desk.

"DIE!"

Be anywhere _but_ behind Ozpin's desk.

Fire washed over Jaune as he was thrown aside, launched by the explosive blast and sent skidding across the tiled floor. The windows were already shattered, either by Yang or Ruby, but he wasn't going fast enough to be sent out of them.

A foot pressed down on his back, stopping him. Cinder took one look out the window and to the fatal drop and smirked. "Goodbye, John."

"Shi-" His words cut off as she pushed, the inhuman force of it enough to lift him off the floor entirely and throw him out. The world spun as he flipped around, green interior replaced with night sky, explosions and a raging Grimm-beast. No forest to break his fall this time.

Throwing his hands out to create what resistance he could, Jaune managed to slow his spin – at least enough to get a vague shot on target. His armpiece hissed as the hook shot out. He'd aimed for inside the office once more, but momentum wasn't on his side and he caught the wall below it instead. Momentum halted as the rope struck taut – though only for a second. Outward became downward and Jaune prepared himself for impact with the tower.

If the hook shot was anything but attached to his arm, he'd have dropped it, the pain was so great. His body struck the outside of the tower like a wrecking ball, only that instead of architecture giving way, it was his squishy body. Aura ensured nothing was pulped, but his bones still rattled painfully. He hung there for a moment, catching his breath, waiting for his vision to clear.

This wasn't working. Operation `Stop Ruby and Yang dying` had just put himself in Cinder's crosshairs. The three of them together weren't enough. Maybe if Pyrrha was here, she could hold her own with skill, but he wasn't sure, even of that. Cinder couldn't be called human anymore. She'd transcended that.

 _There has to be something we can do._

Nothing came to mind. Even assuming he could hit her with something, she'd still have her aura to protect her. As far as he could tell, the maiden's powers didn't come with some convenient weakness.

An explosion above told him the others were still fighting. Gritting his teeth, Jaune drew the chord back in, pulling himself up. If no plan would come to him, he'd have to give his mind some incentive.

"Oobleck always did say I worked better under pressure."

/-/

Winter parried another blow from Taurus, the force of it shaking her entire body.

"You know, for all that I've led the White Fang, I've never killed a Schnee."

"Do you think that will earn you some mercy here, terrorist?"

"No. I think this will be a chance to broaden my horizons a little."

"I didn't take you for one who enjoyed idle chatter." Winter slid her sabre down the length of his sword, twisting and unhooking the parrying dagger at the end. Keeping her sabre locked against his sword, she surged in for his throat.

Adam caught her wrist with his other hand and smirked, "Better than I expected, but you're still a Schnee."

"And what is _that_ supposed to mean?" she asked, tearing away. Her eyes narrowed as his hand fell to his sheathe. She was able to summon some birds in time to deflect the shots he sent her way. In an ideal world, she'd fill the room with her summons, but that risked the girl still injured behind her. If she took her eyes off Adam for a second, he'd have a hostage.

"You're a Schnee," Adam said, relenting his gunfire to take a ready stance. "Trained, disciplined. Too rigid. You didn't learn to fight; you learned to dance. One step after another, mimicking what your private tutors told you to. There's no understanding there, no adaptation." He flicked his katana toward her, and though Winter blocked it, she was unprepared for him to step in, body-check her and drive the pommel of his sword up into her throat. Winter choked for breath. "You're predictable, Schnee. In a world where every fight follows its set rules, you're capable of holding your own. But take that away and you're nothing."

Red flashed before her eyes. Winter ducked instinctively, avoiding his blade by a hair's breadth. Several of her own floated down. She backpedalled, fighting for distance, for time to regain control. Adam refused to give her it, always staying within two feet of her as he launched attack after attack.

"Your family has always flourished in such conditions, haven't they? You couldn't get to where you are by treating your employees as real people. No. You took those who couldn't fight back. Crushed them. Bled them dry." Adam's sword locked with hers, but he pushed her back, smiling mockingly. "And when they rose up, you named them terrorists. But if that's so, then we are of your making. How does that feel?"

"I…" Winter placed her other hand on the back of her sword, "-am not my father! I am _nothing_ like him! I've never mistreated the faunus like he did!"

"No? But you didn't put it right either, did you? You, who were in a position to do so much, fled to join the military. You could have saved so many, but your own freedom was more important to you. You may act like you hate him for what he's done, Winter Schnee, but in the end you still chose to stand back and do nothing."

Her strength broke first. Adam tore her sword aside and brought his up from her left hip to right shoulder, shearing into her aura – which crackled loudly. Agony seared through Winter and she was launched back, through a table and then into another, which tumbled back, her body rolling over the top of it to crash down on the other side.

Winter's sword clattered down beside her. Even with every muscle burning, she forced herself to reach out and take it. Forced herself to stand. Forced herself to meet his eyes once more.

"You still wish to continue this farce?" Adam asked.

"Maybe you're right," Winter said. She swung one leg over the table and slid across it. "Maybe I did run away. Maybe it was my responsibility to do something. Certainly, ignoring the issue and complaining about what my father has done changes nothing. It absolves me of nothing. You're right, the faunus _have_ been taken advantage of. And my family is guilty of much of that. But you are no different, Taurus." She stabbed her sabre out to point at his face. "You claim you fight for the faunus, but there are faunus out there right now suffering because of you. This helps no one. No one but the Grimm!"

"You're not wrong," Adam said. "But then, I'm aware of what I am. I'm a monster. But I'm a monster of _your_ making."

Yes, he was. In a way. Winter accepted that, even as she accepted she might well die for her father's greed. Justice would see him get away with it. He always did. He'd made a habit – a life – of getting away with it. Someone had to pay the price.

 _Better me than Weiss. I already abandoned her to reform the SDC alone. I won't abandon her here, as well._

With an angry yell, Winter clashed with Adam once more. He was fast. Faster than her, perhaps. Certainly stronger. He had more weight and his swings came in with more force than she could fully manage. Her aura flared as he slid his blade around hers and scored a blow on her shoulder. All the time, he never stopped smirking at her.

He pushed her back – one blow after another. Winter spared some attention to make sure she didn't trip and kill herself, but otherwise had to retreat, summoning birds whenever she could in a desperate effort to distract him. A flash of red by the back wall caught her attention. Winter gritted her teeth and threw a reckless blow towards his head.

Adam saw it coming and ducked, sliding past and behind her, slashing at her back. This time, her aura wasn't enough to block everything, and Winter screamed as blood flowed. She kicked back instinctively, Adam dodging away with a chuckle.

"Do you see what I mean, Schnee? You don't truly understand what it means to fight. You didn't cut your teeth on a blade like I did. Like the White Fang had to."

"You really do talk more than I expected you would."

"Hm." Adam shrugged. "To be fair, I came here for someone else and I'm still waiting for her to show. I'm just amusing myself with you. No offence."

"Much taken." Winter charged in. Adam's smile grew as he readied himself for the killing blow, lowering his sword to a drawing stance. Winter closed the distance, approaching the point at which he would draw and kill her.

At the last second, she stopped and threw herself to the ground.

"NOW!"

"Wh-" Adam's eyes widened as several bullets – along with an entire vending machine – flew towards him. "Tch." His sword glowed, racing out to cut the machine in two and send each part of it flying past him. The bullets still struck, ringing off his aura and driving him back. Metal cans struck one after another, exploding on him and dousing his body with soda, blinding him for an instant.

Pyrrha stood with one hand extended, the other on the wall, covered in blood as she concentrated. As more and more metal rained down, Adam was driven steadily back, sword flashing to defend what he could, where he could.

Something had to give. In this case it was Pyrrha, weakened and spent, collapsing with a pained groan. The deluge stopped, metal objects falling to the ground all around him.

"Is that all?"

Winter reared up behind and hooked her sabre over his throat. Adam's sword came up in time to stop her cutting him a new smile, but barely. "Not quite," Winter hissed. With a hand on either side of his neck, she dragged her sword ever-closer.

His scabbard fired twice into her gut. Warm wetness spread across her stomach. He fired a third time before his sheathe ran dry, but she already knew it was enough. Gritting her teeth against the pain, Winter wrenched him back, swinging from side to side to try and break past his iron grip.

"It won't work," he gasped. "You're not strong enough!"

"I… don't have to be." With one final lurch, Winter dragged him back another pace – and as her foot touched nothingness, she tipped back into the elevator shaft. The sudden loss of footing toppled her – and dragged Adam to the precipice.

"Schnee bitch-" he snarled. "You'll kill us both."

"I may be a Schnee, but before that I'm a soldier," Winter growled. "And that means no matter what the cost, I complete the mission." A glyph shimmered to life in front of them both, back in the room. A pure white Beowolf grew from it, breathing in life as it opened its eyes.

With her hanging from his neck, and his hands busy stopping her from slitting it, Adam had no defence. Nothing he could do as the Beowolf roared eagerly and lunged forward. He roared back instead, all his fury and hate as the Grimm slammed into them both, carrying all three of them down into the elevator shaft – toward the twisted wreckage and bare metal below.

As they fell, Winter summoned more glyphs. Not to stop their fall, nor to slow them down, but rather to accelerate. Though the fall was only twenty metres or so, in the short distance it took, she assured they reached terminal velocity.

"DAMN YOU!"

Winter grinned. "For Atlas!"

/-/

Pyrrha groaned and fell to her knees, tears leaking forth as she watched Winter carry Adam down the elevator shaft. If only she'd been stronger. If only she hadn't been blindsided by Adam. Then perhaps none of this would have happened.

Or maybe it would be so much worse. She had no way of knowing.

As she slumped to the base of the wall, blood staining her legs, Pyrrha imagined she heard a door open. Imagined she heard familiar figures call her name. Imagined she saw her partner rush towards her, his pink eyes filled with concern.

She imagined much, but that was all it was, surely.

 _I did my part, everyone. I… I hope I made you proud._

/-/

"Gah!"

The fight against Cinder was going no better than he'd expected. Ruby cried out as she was knocked back against a wall, Crescent Rose sliding away. A blast of fire struck it as it did, adding momentum and sending the sniper-scythe straight off the platform, out into the abyss. Yang jumped Cinder from behind but was sensed somehow and thrown back with a blast of air. The gunshots Jaune sent forward fizzled and twisted in the air, some diverting, and the few that hit bouncing off Cinder's aura.

In return, she pointed at him – and the world erupted in agony.

"Jaune!" Ruby tackled him aside, out of the column of flame. He fell hard, gasping for breath, thanking the VSS armour once again for being fire proof, or as fire proof as it could be. Neither he nor Ruby were badly burned, though he imagined his hair hadn't come out in one piece. "Jaune. Are you okay?"

"Been better. You?"

Ruby giggled weakly. "About the same. You got a plan?"

"I'll be honest, was kinda hoping you'd have one."

"Some team leaders we make, huh?" Ruby's smile fell. "She's still human. She can still bleed."

He wasn't convinced but nodded along anyway. The alternative was too grim to consider. Huh. The Grimm. He hadn't seen the dragon for a while. Had it been dealt with? Reinforcements might be enough to sway the fight if they could hold on. Cinder had the quality, but they could bring quantity.

But it ran out right there. Yang hit the back wall and slumped to its base, unconscious. Her mask shattered as she did, glass shards falling into her lap. There was blood running down Yang's face.

Cinder stalked towards the downed agent.

"Oi bitch!" Jaune yelled, staggering to his feet. "Did you know Emerald rolled on you before the end? You only thought she died, but we took her in. Made her talk. Oh, how she talked."

Cinder's eyes snapped to his once more. She stopped her path toward Yang. "My, John, you really are a glutton for punishment, aren't you? That's fine. I have plenty in mind for you after what you've done."

"Kinky," he said, laughing wildly. He kept the words coming, anything and everything that might draw her ire. "But that's assuming you'll win this. You've not got the best record against me, Cinder. What are we currently? Ten to zero in my favour? The only pain you caused me was killing my mentor, and that wasn't even you. Torchwick managed that on his own!" He grinned when her eyes flared angrily. "Oh, does that hurt? Knowing that Roman was a bigger thorn in my side than you were? Fact it, Cinder. You're second best."

Cinder took a deep breath and let it go, slowly. "Do you believe you can goad me into making a mistake, John? That's awfully optimistic of you."

Jaune grinned. "Nope. I just wanted to keep you distracted."

Her eyes widened, but the explosion that struck her from behind was enough to launch her into the back wall, causing much of it to crumble. Another shot went higher, collapsing the ceiling and raining debris down on her position. As if that wasn't enough, a small, metallic orb tinkled along the ground, coming to rest beside it and exploding with enough force to blow the entire wall away.

"I appreciate the distraction," General Ironwood said, dusting his coat down with one hand. "Elevators were down, so I had to climb up here."

Ruby gaped at him. "You scaled the tower!?"

"Not as easy as it looks, I assure you."

"It _looks_ impossible."

"Exactly." Ironwood's clothing was torn and marked badly, ripped to reveal his robotic arm which must have enabled him to get up here. Despite his jovial tone, the man's eyes were firmly locked onto the rubble that covered Cinder. None of them trusted it was over.

True to form, Cinder exploded back into action, flying from wreckage she blasted in every direction. She was battered and bruised, more so than from any damage they'd done. Explosives did more than raw damage, then? Was that because of the pain threshold? Aura protected you from damage, but explosives were concussive, which meant the force could still bleed through. More so than bullets, anyway. Her aura also had to be spread over a grater area to protect her.

"You've lost, Cinder," Ironwood said. "The White Fang are in retreat, their backs broken. Already, my men are taking down the Grimm that remain with the aid of Beacon's students. You're out of allies, out of options and out of time."

"I can still kill you," Cinder sneered. "You don't have the firepower to stop me."

Ironwood smirked. "I may not, but she does."

A lance of green light crashed into Cinder from below and to the side, scything through her form with an intense heat, _smashing_ through the ceiling and out into the sky. Cinder _screeched_ in fury and pain, flying to the side to escape it. She hadn't come out unharmed. Her left arm was badly scorched, along with her shoulder and her side. She gripped them with her other hand.

Her attacker stepped out of the ruined elevator shaft.

"Ciel was my friend." Penny took a step forward, her face calm. Too calm. Inhumanly calm. "I was not created with the capacity to cry. It is not a function of mine. There are many functions I do not have. I do not believe my creators expected I would have use of tears." The girl came to a stop, several blades floating in the air around her. "Ciel is dead. Her heart has stopped beating. Her existence has been terminated. So…" Penny stared at her open palm, "This is grief. I… I do not like it."

Her eyes snapped to Cinder's.

"I do not like you, murderer."

Cinder snarled and threw a fireball at Penny.

Penny's blades formed a rough circle before her. Light, sound and energy distorted. A great _thrumming_ filled the air.

Cinder's fireball never stood a chance. It was snuffed out immediately. Consumed, swallowed, obliterated. A column of pure green light erupted from Penny's form, destroying anything and everything in its path. Cinder's eyes widened, and she hurled herself aside, escaping by mere inches. Or so she thought. Ruby appeared the second she did, decking Cinder in the face – and right back into Penny's attack.

The woman's screams were swallowed by the bright light. Lost within it. When it faded, Cinder remained standing, but not unhurt. Her entire body shook, steam pouring from her.

"How?" Cinder snarled. "How!? I am the Fall Maiden. My power is absolute."

"How?" Ironwood asked, amused. "Because Penny was _designed_ to kill maidens."

She was!? Jaune's eyes snapped to the girl. No, not a girl. There was more to Penny. He knew that after seeing her come back from the dead, and this display hardly helped. Humans were born, not designed, and Penny claimed she was _created_.

A weapon…? Well, looked like the VSS weren't the only ones with secrets.

"Impossible!" Cinder snapped. "Mere technology cannot surpass the power of the Maidens, nor that of the Relics."

"It doesn't have to. If you're here looking for the Relic, Fall, you're wasting your time. Did you truly believe Ozpin would hide it here? Do you think him so foolish? Ha!" Ironwood barked a sharp laugh. "His strength was ever trickery, and the only person who could tell you where he kept the Relic is he. If you wanted it, you shouldn't have killed him."

"Where is it?" Cinder snapped.

"But I'm not Ozpin, and what works for one does not necessarily work for another," Ironwood said, ignoring her question. "He liked to mislead and pose riddles. But I'm from Atlas. We like to do things a little more… direct. I personally hate the idea of maidens. Unaccountable power granted to unaccountable people who aren't even aware of what it is they are stepping into. It's too much of a risk, and the idea of hiding the Relic in some musty cave waiting to be found never appealed to me." Ironwood chuckled. "If a maiden cannot protect herself, then why not grant the Relic means to do so in her place?"

"W-What!?"

"The Relic of Creation allows for the creation of life," Penny said, "Among other things. Did you not find it strange that Atlas has an army of limited AI, and yet here I stand, human, and with an aura of my own? If Atlas could create me from scratch, why would they not have done so en masse?"

Realisation dawned on Jaune, and on Cinder by the looks of things. Her eyes widened, in both shock and a little fear, as she stared at Penny.

Not just _mere technology_ , but a weaponised Relic.

Creation of life, but now that he thought about it, creation of _energy_ , too. Her beams came from nowhere, with little logic science could explain. All things were made from energy in a sense, so if the Relic acted as a power source and a means, with an algorithm programmed to direct its use…

Penny's swords spiralled before her once more. The build up of energy reached critical mass.

Cinder moved first. She flashed in front of Yang, rolled and came up with the unconscious girl held before her, Cinder's face close to Yang's. "Shoot and you kill her," Cinder said. Even assuming you can hit me before I snap her neck, your attack would incinerate her."

Jaune bit his lip. Ruby cried out.

But worse, Ironwood was unfazed. He had to be. This was bigger than Yang, bigger than them, bigger even than General Ironwood himself. He knew that. Jaune knew it. Yang probably knew it too, and he knew she'd tell them to shoot. Cinder's hostage wasn't a hostage at all. She was just an animate piece of cover about to be blown away. Ruby realised it and looked to him in anguish. Her eyes begged him to save her. To stop Ironwood or Penny.

He had nothing. No more ideas, no more strength, not even aura. His only real strength, his gadgets, were out of reach. He'd not learned many; only what Oobleck showed him and what he'd experienced first hand back when this all started.

Jaune's eyes widened.

"Cinder!" he yelled. When she looked his way, her head passing close to Yang's, he smirked. "Cold Spray."

"W-" Cinder gasped as Yang's mask hissed, sending out a cold mist into Yang's face. The same one Oobleck had used to drug and knock him out before his initiation process. It was no drug here, but Yang's mask was shattered, and the spray fired out in all directions, including straight into Cinder's mouth and eyes. She hacked and coughed, eyes closing as she dropped Yang in shock.

Ruby shot forward like a rocket, a blur of red that passed in front of Cinder, scooping up and dragging Yang away.

Penny unloaded what felt like a miniature sun on the small, broken room. The force of it threw them back. Him into a wall. Ironwood onto the floor, to slide along it. Even Ruby and Yang were knocked aside, sent tumbling into some rubble as blinding light filled the room, burning at Jaune's eyes until he had to close them or risk losing his eyesight forever. He could _feel_ the heat burning away the cloth on him, and that was with him being _behind_ the blast.

What Cinder felt he didn't know.

If she felt anything. Her anguished screams cut off almost immediately. Snuffed away, along with the Fall Maiden.

In the sudden silence that remained, Penny's voice was unmistakeable, "Anti-Maiden Weapon designation Penny Polendina reporting target neutralised. Fall Maiden is dead. I repeat, the Fall Maiden is dead. Friend Ciel has been avenged." Penny hesitated, suddenly sounding more human. "And yet, it doesn't take the pain away. Why is that, General? When will it stop hurting?"

"When you no longer care for her," Ironwood groaned in pain, pushing himself up. "When every memory you have of her is forgotten."

"Oh. Then… I am not sure it will ever stop hurting."

"I know, Penny." He clapped a hand on her shoulder. "That's what makes you human. Jaune. Girls. Well done. It's over."

"For now," Jaune rasped, stumbling to his feet. He hesitated between Ironwood and Yang, but Ruby was already at her sister's side, and judging from the sheer relief on her face, Yang was okay. Unconscious and injured, but okay. Jaune turned to Ironwood instead. "Cinder wasn't acting on her own, was she? There's someone else behind it."

"There is."

"And they'll come again, won't they?"

"Almost certainly."

Huh. There went his relief, flitting away into the dark. Another day, another Cinder. More prepared, stronger, better-equipped. They'd keep coming and coming in pursuit of the Relic and the Maidens. And they'd do this time and time again, killing however many they had to in order to get it.

"Then…" Jaune took a deep breath to steel himself. When he was done, his eyes snapped open, hard like chips of ice. "Then I guess we'd better be prepared to kill them when they do. So that nothing like this ever has to happen again."

"That, Mr Arc. No, Director Arc of the VSS, is why we fight."

* * *

 **Not the end, not yet, but close. Fallout to come. And yeah, I threw in some wild headcanon for Penny here. Makes sense in my head that Ironwood would be just crazy enough, just headstrong enough, to decide that leaving his Relic in a sodding vault to be picked up by bad guys whenever they fancy, is, you know, not an amazing idea.**

 **And Penny** _ **is**_ **a little suspiciously one of a kind. I mean, sure, you can say she's a prototype, but she's ridiculously far ahead of all the other AI droids they use, which can barely function without direct orders from a battleship CPU. That kind of leap would be hard to explain by just saying, "Oh yeah, there's this one zany scientist who can just kinda do it for her and no other AI."**

 **But hey, it's just a theory. A RWBY theory.**

* * *

 **Next Chapter: 9** **th** **September**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


	57. Chapter 57

**The final chapter is here. On Penny, I know the idea of her as an anti-maiden weapon seemed "foolishly risky" to some, but I would point out that Ironwood and Ozpin never did seem quite… you know, genius at times.**

 **Ozpin basically let people get away with things under his nose, and Ironwood is shown to be quite headstrong and aggressive in his approach, so I like the idea that he wouldn't be satisfied with just leaving his Relic in a cave somewhere. Ozpin does also have that, "You brought THAT HERE!?" moment when he realises what Penny is.**

 **I'm not saying I think that IS canon. Just that it's an idea, and I could see it happening if RT wanted to take it that way. From a tactical standpoint, yes, it's a risky gambit on Ironwood's part. But no more risk than, say, leaving the Relic in a cave opened by a completely unloyal maiden.**

* * *

 **Cover Art:** Kegi Springfield

 **Chapter 57**

* * *

"Beacon will be rebuilt in time."

"I'm not sure I'll be going back."

"I wouldn't blame you."

"It's not that. I didn't… We all lost people, but that's not it. Truth is, I just don't have the time for that life anymore."

"I knew what you meant. But emotional distress is as good an excuse for it as any."

"You're right. Will you be staying?"

"I'll have to. People will notice if we all drop out. Don't worry, I'll still work with you when I can. Weekends, perhaps?"

"Of course. Our doors will always be open."

"Don't work yourself too hard, Jaune."

"I won't, Pyrrha. Get well soon."

/-/

The SDC Security & Training Facility, Vale Branch, was a building that popped up almost overnight. The squat, rectangular building was two stories tall with windows lining the top floor and two entrances on the first, leading through to a foyer and friendly receptionist. Corridors branched off from it with offices at the intersections, each staffed by jovial guards and chatting interns. A training hall stood in the centre with a firing range off to the side, enclosed on all sides to protect any training within.

Why the Schnee family had chosen to create a training facility in Vale, no one knew, but the land was purchased cheap – off the back of a terrorist attack on a tower block that housed a company which, on second thought, no one could quite remember or place the name of.

It probably didn't matter.

The SDC were likely responding to the recent attack on Beacon, which had been thwarted through the combined efforts of huntsmen, students and the Atlas military – a tragedy which claimed numerous lives, including Headmaster Ozpin himself. The full list was far larger, detailing such names as Ciel Soleil, Coco Adel, Glynda Goodwitch and even Winter Schnee. With such losses, the expansion of the SDC's security forces made some small sense. Better to be safe with future dust shipments to and from Vale.

At least, that was what the public assumed.

Jaune stepped past the receptionist and through into a corridor, nodding to those he passed. Each nodded back, and the smiles on the faces of the guards faded the deeper he went, until those he came to gripped their weapons tightly and asked for ID at every turn, even from him.

"You never know, sir. Semblances are weird like that."

"I agree. You're doing well."

"Thank you, sir. Code?"

"Sigma-Sigma-Alpha-Bravo. Clearance Eighteen-Tango."

"Clearance accepted," the first guard said, whispering something into his comms device. The room flashed green and the wall behind him clicked and slid away, revealing another checkpoint, this one guarded by three soldiers, an automated turret and a fortified pillbox. There was a woman resting against that, balanced on one foot with a metallic crutch under her left arm.

"You're late."

"Sorry." Jaune stepped forward with a small smile. Blake already had the elevator waiting and they stepped into it together, revealing a whole list of basement floors on the keypad. Blake pushed the one for Sub-Level Eight and the doors closed. "Pyrrha's on the mend," he said. "I just got off a call with her."

"I heard." Blake's smile was, for once, honest. "I visited her yesterday. The wound… It's a miracle she survived at all. Her health is going to be impaired for a long time."

"She wants to stay at Beacon for now."

"Makes sense. It would be too suspicious for someone so famous to drop out. If her health gets worse, however, no one would fault her for retiring."

"You think she's working towards that?"

"I imagine it's something she has in mind."

"Why wouldn't she tell me?"

"Because you're you, Jaune," Blake said, not unkindly. "She knows you'd fret and focus all your attention on being there and trying to help her. Pyrrha's a big girl. She can look after herself."

Jaune nodded to her leg. "How about you?"

"I'm a big girl, too."

"Not that. What did the doctors say?"

"Plenty. I've already had the surgery and I'll be fine. Anything else isn't important." Blake punched his arm gently. "Stop trying to borrow misery. We have enough as it is."

"I guess so."

The elevator doors opened and the two of them marched out, Blake keeping pace with him easily despite her disability. Though he'd asked and she refused to tell, Jaune wasn't a spy for nothing and had already had one of his teams hack into her medical records. One might have called it a betrayal of trust, but if Blake didn't expect him to have done so, she deserved it.

Considering the dirty looks she'd shot him the day after, she knew. Blake's clearance was high enough to see that he'd requisitioned a specialist team for a job, even if it didn't say what it was. She could put the pieces together.

Blake's left leg had been shattered in numerous places and her kneecap was pulped. It was a testament to how much of a badass she was that she hadn't been screaming when they'd found her. Typical Blake, really.

The surgery had been successful, but the conclusion from the doctors was that she would never have full mobility back. There would always be a limp, along with a tendency to favour her right leg and side over her left. Not enough to ruin her life, but enough to put a round through the head of her career as a huntress. Ironwood had offered her a cybernetic leg, if she agreed to have hers removed.

Blake had turned it down. Jaune didn't push on why.

Blast doors lined the corridor they travelled through, their boots echoing on the metallic grill floor. Codes and symbols emblazoned each door, but it was the one at the end they stopped at, one labelled RV-614. Blake flashed the card hanging from a lanyard around her neck over the control panel and it flashed green, the door sliding open a moment later.

Inside, a few heads turned in their directions, before people went back to their work. A dark-haired man in a white labcoat stood at the front of the room, leaning over someone's shoulder as he spoke and directed them on the screen. He stiffened when Blake coughed behind him, relaxed, and then turned with a smile.

"You're-"

"Late, I know." Jaune grinned and slapped a hand on Ren's arm. "What's with the get up? You trying to found a science division or something?"

"Just came from medical and didn't have time or the inclination to change. Not for me," he added, when he saw Jaune's concern. "I'm fine. Wouldn't have a labcoat if I was a patient now, would I?"

"He's just been speaking with Pyrrha," Blake explained.

"Ah. He's in worry-wart mode, then?"

"Hey," Jaune complained.

Blake snorted. "He is."

"That's our glorious leader for you," Ren said, and there were a few muffled laughs from other agents in the office. It had only been two weeks now since the agency opened, but already people were beginning to settle in and get a feel for their dynamic. It was a more relaxed and personable one than the VSS had ever been, but no less strict.

That was something he'd focused on. The VSS had been cruel and uncompromising, and in a way, it was the correct decision. The work demanded a certain level of action and much of what they knew was too sensitive not to punish leaks and deal with problems with swift, decisive action. It was dark work. It had been before, and Jaune knew it would be going on.

And yet, it didn't all have to be that way. Jaune took what lessons he could from how Oobleck acted; firm, focused, dedicated, and yet personable. Jaune spend most of his time in the HQ with his mask off, face fully revealed, even if he never asked it of the others. Blake and Ren followed suit, however, and there was a fair few of the newer agents who now felt relaxed enough to do the same. People knew one another by their names, rather than code names or registration codes.

It wasn't a family, not yet, and maybe it never would be – a family being a little _too_ soft for what they were. But there was life to it now that was lacking in the VSS, and those who worked for the agency were well-treated. If a traitor ever did appear, Jaune realised, they would need to be put down lethally.

But there would be no bombs in helmets. No throwing away of agency lives. No ordering of personnel to hold a line that could not be held.

That was a line he wouldn't cross.

"Any news on the White Fang?" Jaune asked.

It was Ren that answered, "Current reports have them going through something of a schism in Menagerie. Adam's allies lost a lot of credit attacking Beacon, and the fact they failed has only made it worse. Those loyal to him are trying to point towards the killing of Winter Schnee as a sign of his success."

"I want someone there."

"Already ahead of you," Ren said. "I dispatched two agents there, designated temporary codenames; Fox and Hound. Their mission is to ensure the public opinion goes the way of moderate forces, and, if possible, to kill the leaders of those supporting Adam."

"Why wasn't I made aware of the mission?"

Ren and Blake exchanged glances. "You needed rest," Blake said. "You're working yourself to the bone. As Acting Directors and two-thirds of the C4 Council, we approved the mission. If you want to change anything, you're welcome to…"

"No, it's fine. I trust you." Jaune managed a smile, and to push his fear away. The C4 Council was a new style of leadership they'd decided on, numbering the four members of Jaune, Blake, Ren and Pyrrha. Naturally, with Pyrrha currently in Beacon, the C4 Council numbered only three, but her spot was reserved.

Missions and decisions of a certain clearance level or above required a majority vote from the C4 Council. Those were the new rules, put in place to prevent one person ever amassing too much power. Such wasn't really a concern right now, but they all knew this would outlast them. Better to put plans in place to limit problems in a hundred years as much as the next two or three.

The VSS never bothered with such things. They had a strict line of command that put too much power at the top, in the hands of Directors who could act with far too much autonomy, sometimes without even making the other Directors aware of what they were doing.

"You'll keep me in the loop on any developments?"

"Of course," Blake said, smiling.

"You can review Fox and Hound's files later," Ren agreed. "They're more than qualified for the job and we needed someone out there immediately. You were sleeping for once. We didn't want to wake you up."

"Appreciated."

"Either way, that's not why I called you down here," Ren said. He swept away from the computers, motioning for them to follow. His silence made it clear he wasn't willing to speak in so crowded a room, so Jaune and Blake followed after him. Ren started to talk again when the door closed behind them. "You've had me keeping an eye out for the maidens, particularly to see if the Fall Maiden resurfaced. I've not been able to track the Summer or Winter Maiden, but we believe the Spring Maiden to be in Mistral, a part of the Branwen Tribe."

"As in Qrow Branwen?"

"His sister, yes. Rumours have it that the Spring Maiden is named Vernal, but our thinktank isn't convinced. I've spoken to representatives from the department who have hunted down some victims who faced the Branwen tribe recently. They claim the one named Vernal, as we provided images, fought without any unusual abilities."

"A smokescreen?" Blake asked.

"That was the thinktank's thoughts," Ren said, "And mine after reviewing their evidence. Raven Branwen would know about Salem and the risks involved in her discovering they had the maiden, so having her tribe spread rumours would be a pointless risk at best, and idiocy at worst. We think the Spring Maiden _is_ there, but it's not Vernal. Our current guesses are limited, but the thinktank is saying Raven herself should be a priority suspect."

"On what grounds?"

"Raven is one of the few who has been noted to have a limited involvement in recent attacks, indicative of her leadership position – however, past records showed that she took part on the front lines regularly."

"So, she's holding back for some reason," Jaune mused.

"Exactly. Whether that is to hide the maiden's powers or mislead further, we don't know, but what we do know is that if the Spring Maiden is in the tribe, she would know who it is. And given her focus on strength and the tribe's tendency to choose its leadership on the basis of who is strongest, the fact Raven remains the leader lends credence to the theory she has the Spring Maiden's powers."

"Makes sense to me. What do you think, Blake?"

"As good a theory as any. Are we going to try and bring her in?"

"Might be too dangerous for that but we should get someone in her tribe. What does the C4 Council think?"

"It's risky," Blake said. "We'll have to hold a meeting about it."

Jaune nodded. They'd cover operational details, agent selection, exfiltration protocols and more. Everything and anything they could think of would be discussed, planned and put into motion – and that would be before they even decided if the mission would go ahead.

Once they did, the selected agents would be brought in for a thorough briefing, during which it was encouraged they ask any and all questions – no matter their clearance. It was time-consuming, and probably something the VSS would have called inefficient, but it let the agents know the C4 Council had their best interest at heart, and it ensured no one went into the field lacking important information.

"The reason I was in the medical wing, though." Ren smiled. "Well. Come and see."

Ren held out his key card for another blast door, and when this one opened, a chill wind blew forth, misting around their ankles. The room was empty of personnel, though there were a few labcoats and even some thermal vests hanging from the walls. The main operating centre was empty, there having been no injuries recently apart from training accidents, but there was a metallic coffin nearby, stood up against a wall with a number of wires and chords leading to and from it.

"Is that…?"

"Yes," Ren said, moving forward. He rubbed a hand over the glass front revealing a figure laid asleep inside the tube. Tan skin, pale from the cold, and green hair. Emerald Sustrai did not move. She hadn't, ever since Roman knocked her out and Jaune faked her death.

A thrill of excitement ran through Jaune's body. "Did it work?"

"We think so," Ren said, still smiling. "Preliminary tests show an increase in activity around the brain, while her aura readings are off the chart. Far greater than they should be. We can't be certain without waking her up, but as it is, we're over ninety-five per cent certain that Cinder's final thoughts involved her. Emerald Sustrai is the fall maiden."

And she would be locked away, sustained and frozen, deep within the vaults of the once-VSS headquarters. Her tube would fit within one of the sarcophagi, and if Jaune had his way, she would be placed alongside Vanguard and Magician, who would guard the Fall Maiden until the day she expired. A cruel fate for Emerald.

One the C4 Council had agreed on unanimously.

/-/

Jaune knocked on the door and waited. It took a moment or two for there to be a response, and that was some small animal scrabbling away on the other side, trying to get to him. Jaune waited until footsteps eventually came, someone mumbling for Zwei to stop being an idiot and move aside.

The door opened a crack. Blonde hair filled his vision.

"If this is another recruitment attempt, I already said no."

"What? It's not that. I-"

"Oh, relax," Yang said. "I was just messing with ya." She opened the door and ushered him in, grinning down at the bouquet of roses in his hands. "Though it'd be a cheeky attempt if it was. How are things?"

"I can't tell you that without killing you."

"Ooh. Spooky." Yang laughed, unafraid. "Tell me how Blake and Pyrrha are, anyway."

"Both on the way to recovery. Blake will have a limp, but I doubt that will hold her back. Pyrrha is going to keep going at Beacon once it's repaired, and then join our training division helping new recruits get up to par."

"Sounds good. Weiss is back in Atlas for the funeral. She's going to stay there for a month or two, get her affairs in order. But she'll be coming back once Beacon starts up again. All of Team RYWN will be there." Yang's grin faltered a little. "I'm taking it the same can't be said for Team ABRN?"

"I'm afraid not. Officially, I'm dropping out due to stress. Blake's crippled and Ren… well, he doesn't want to go back if there won't be a team to return to."

"Nora will be upset."

"Ren tells me he's already handled that. They came to an agreement."

"Oh?"

"Something involving regular visits and Ren-sponsored meals out in town."

"Those sound suspiciously like dates," Yang said with a grin.

"Yep. Blake and I are betting on how long it takes Ren to realise. You want in?"

"Put me down for him not realising until Nora snaps and forces him up against a wall."

Yang and Ruby were back in Patch for now. With Beacon out of commission, everyone had to go home or find accommodation of their own. Emergency shelters had been set up to provide temporary housing, and the Council was working on finding more, but there were already enough injured, and some properties had been badly damaged in the attack and were no longer fit for purpose. Vale was in a bad way.

But it had survived. It persisted, and in time it would get better. At least Yang and Ruby had the option of going back to live with their dad. Even if it was, as Yang grumbled, one hell of a trip to go shopping.

"Have you considered my other offer?"

Yang's smile fell. "Yeah, and you can fuck off."

"Yang, we need-"

"I'm not being your failsafe and I'm sure as hell not being the one to hunt down and kill you in case you go rogue," she spat. "I told you, I'm done. I'm retired. I'm going to be a huntress with my sister and I'm going to dedicate my life to killing Grimm, not people."

"But what if I turn into another Alpha?"

Yang's anger faded. She reached out with on hand to grip his shoulder. "The fact you're worried about that tells me you won't. I trust you, Jaune. Trust yourself a little. There's more of Oobleck in you than you realise. In the end, the only one who can stop you going bad is yourself. I'm not going to be the one to do it." Yang nodded to the bouquet in his hands. "Especially not if you're here for what I think you're here for."

"Y-Yeah. I am…"

Yang nodded. "She's upstairs."

Jaune nodded and made his way up, poking his head around the corner of an open door. Yang's from her clothing strewn across the floor. There was a room further down with the door open and some music coming from within. Zwei nestled at his feet and Jaune crouched down, "Where's Ruby?"

The dog, sensing the potential for play, perked up and darted into the open room. Jaune followed, pausing to knock at the open door as he heard Zwei bark happily and Ruby complain about the dog jumping on her bed.

"Who is it?" she asked, laughing.

"It's me."

The laughter died. He heard a muffled curse, followed by the sound of Ruby jumping off her bed. She fought with something, probably her boots, before Ruby appeared in full in the doorway. She was only half-dressed, her pyjama bottoms and black tank-top, but now with a cream gown thrown over the top. She had her boots on too, though there was little explanation for why. Her hair was frizzy, stuck up in places and generally a mess. Ruby looked like a mess.

And yet Jaune still found himself swallowing, averting his eyes and standing there a little awkwardly.

Luckily, it didn't take much in the way of social grace to push the flowers out towards her.

"Oh." Ruby stared at them like they were coiled snakes ready to bite. Heat crept up her neck as she reached out to take them, and then stood there holding them. "W-What am I supposed to do with them?"

"I… honestly don't know."

Ruby stared at him, eyes wide and lost. He stared back.

As one, they both broke into giggles. It wasn't a moment of understanding or acceptance, but more a moment in which they both realised they were the biggest dorks in the world trying to act like adults. Neither had any idea what to do other than go through the motions and hope the other did, leading to stupid silences where both acted like a deer in the headlights.

"We're the worst," Ruby said, laughing.

"We really are. We're total idiots."

Ruby smiled and awkwardly kicked her toes against the back of her other foot. "I thought we agreed it wouldn't work." Her voice was barely a whisper. "The secrets…"

"The secrets won't ever go away, I think. It's my job. But… I trust you, Ruby. I'd tell you." Jaune met her eyes. "And more than that, I don't think I'm prepared to agree on it not working just yet. Maybe it won't work. Maybe we'll never work. But I don't want to accept that without trying." He reached out with one hand, shyly, for hers. When she didn't pull away, he meshed his fingers with hers. "Do you?"

Ruby swallowed. "I don't know…"

"Do you want me to leave?" Jaune asked.

"No."

"Do you want me to stay?"

"N- I don't know. I'm not sure."

Jaune's heart hammered in his chest. He took a deep breath. "Do you want to go catch a movie tomorrow?"

Ruby's mouth fell open. Her eyes sought his, then flicked away, doing a full circle of the room before finally coming back to him and affixing on his chest. Her smile, what little of it he could see with her head down, was shy and nervous.

"Yeah. Yeah, I kind of do…"

/-/

"What's my schedule looking like?"

"What am I, your secretary?" Despite the complaint, Blake brought out her scroll. "Ten-hundred hours, you have a meeting with General Ironwood to discuss an international training initiative. Twelve-hundred hours, budget meeting with Council of Vale. Fifteen-hundred hours, orientation for new recruits. Fifteen-forty-five-hundred hours, recruitment interviews for the medical chief of staff position with Ren. Four interviews, lasting until seventeen-hundred hours. Eighteen-hundred hours, dinner with Ruby Ro—How did this make it onto your schedule?"

Jaune grinned. "Who can say?"

"Spare me the sordid details of what you get up to after. Or is this a mission?"

"Never again," Jaune said. "Not with Ruby."

"Hm. I guess you learned something after all. You've an appointment tomorrow at ten, too."

"I have? Since when?"

"Since two hours ago," Blake said, putting the scroll away. "It's a C4-Sanctioned mission. Full ops."

" _We're_ going in? What mission requires our presence?"

"Ren found him."

"Him?"

"Torchwick. He fled to Mistral. Confirmation came in. We have permission from Mistral to orchestrate a sting in their Kingdom. They're giving us six hours and a clear path in and out. Anything that happens will be concealed. Black ops."

"Well…" Jaune felt his adrenaline spike. His lips curled into a vicious smile. "I did warn him he'd pay for turning on us."

"You think Ruby will want to come along?"

"For this? Heh. I bet both Ruby _and_ Yang will be chomping at the bit. I'll ask her tonight over dinner."

"Very romantic."

"Hey, this is Ruby. Inviting her to come capture an international criminal with me? As far as she's concerned, a chance to go out and kick ass together is the height of romance."

"Ha. True. It's about time we cleaned up the loose ends." Blake glanced to Jaune. "You think he'd be proud? Oobleck?"

"I dunno. Maybe. I'm not going to think about it. Once this life is over, assuming there's somewhere else, I'll ask him in person. Until then, I'm just going to focus on keeping Vale safe. One step at a time."

"And we'll be right behind you," Blake promised.

Of course they would. Even if they'd never been drafted properly, they were all – like he was – a part of something bigger. As Jaune and Blake stepped out into the corridor, they drew on their sanctioned jackets, now sporting a picture of a crown and three weapons, a sword, a gun and a knife emblazoned above it, crossed. Beneath, the name of their new organisation.

The Kingdom's Service.

* * *

 **So, there we go. In the Kingdom's Service completed. The last chapter was written in something of a different style to usual. I wanted to be vague on the times of it, leaving people to piece together dialogue instead of too much exposition. As ever, the world is still out there, Salem, Watts, Tyrian and all the other bads, but that's not their issue. Their job is to protect the Kingdom.**

 **Oh, and hey – surprise, Emerald was a trap and a bait. The taunt a method designed by Jaune to make it more likely Cinder would think of Emerald if she died, and her body stolen and sequestered away so that if she became the Fall Maiden, they could contain her.**

 **SCP Protocols, one might say.**

 **There will be no update next week as the next story is planned and tweaked in readiness for its arrival. The story to replace this one will be "The Unseen Hunt".**

* * *

 **Parting Thoughts**

* * *

 **On this fic, I'm probably a little "eh". I don't think it was my best, nor was it my worst. Somewhere in the middle. I'm at least content with it, even if I can see areas where I let things drag on a little. Pacing towards the end became problematic – but a part of me thinks the biggest issue is that these kinds of stories, spies and subterfuge, rely in part on the villain being a credible, dangerous and unknown threat. Cinder is, by definition, a little two-dimensional, and we also know ALL her plans.**

 **Looking back, I might have actually REPLACED her with Watts if I could start this again. Make it an AU where Cinder is found early and flees, and Watts replaces her, beginning a completely AU plan that could have remained more of a mystery to the readers, and thus actually had some twists and turns. Watts might have made a better enemy too, because he strikes me as someone used to sneaking around and taking the subtle approach.**

 **Alas, hindsight is easy!**

 **But I'll be learning from this and keeping that idea in mind for future.**

* * *

 **Next Story: The Unseen Hunt**

 **Release Date: Sunday 23** **rd** **September**

 **P a treon . com (slash) Coeur**


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